Community cellular networks
Rhizomatica
International NGO that supports community-owned mobile phone (GSM) networks, starting in Oaxaca, Mexico
Depends active
Based on public code activity (GitHub pushes on 29 Oct 2026) and press references. rhizomatica.org itself returned HTTP 401 to automated checks, so we could not read the project's own news.
Updated 29 Oct 2026
| Internet traffic | Depends. Voice calls and text messages come first. Secondary coverage mentions mobile services and the internet in the concession, but we could not confirm what data service each community gets. |
|---|---|
| Node count | Not published (no dated count of operating communities found) (as of 29 Oct 2026, source) |
| Geography | Mexico, starting in Oaxaca. The first community network was built in 2013 at Villa Talea de Castro, a joint effort of Rhizomatica and community radio leaders. |
| Regions | Oaxaca, Mexico, Mexico |
| Tech |
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| Typical cost | Not published. Secondary coverage says local calls and texts are cheap or free. An individual cannot buy into it as a node. |
| Bandwidth | Not published. |
| Legal | Community cellular runs on licensed or concessioned spectrum, not licence-exempt bands, so it is not something you can set up on your own. We did not verify the terms of the concession. |
| Governance | Rhizomatica is an NGO. TIC A.C. (Telecomunicaciones Indigenas Comunitarias A.C.) is the organisation to which the community-count figure is attributed; we could not confirm its exact structure or the NGO's founding year. |
| UK notes | Operates in Mexico. We did not research community cellular networks in the UK. |
| Links |
How it works
Rhizomatica is an international NGO that supports community-owned mobile phone networks. This is a different kind of network from the Wi-Fi and LoRa meshes elsewhere in this directory: ordinary GSM phones connect to a small base station that the community owns and manages.
The first community network was built in 2013 at Villa Talea de Castro in Oaxaca, Mexico, as a joint effort of Rhizomatica and community radio leaders. Trained local operators maintain each network, and the project supplies the software. We did not read that software: the community-cellular code is hosted on a GitLab that needs a login.
How to join
An individual cannot join as a node. Communities contact Rhizomatica or TIC A.C., and the NGO trains local operators. We could not verify the exact process.
What it realistically gives you
Voice calls and text messages come first, and secondary coverage says local calls and texts are cheap or free. Secondary coverage also mentions mobile services and the internet in the concession, but we could not confirm what data service a community gets.
We found no dated count of operating communities, so this site shows none.
Caveats
- Status is active on the evidence of code activity: the rhizomatica GitHub organisation had pushes on 29 October 2026.
- We saw a figure claiming access for 356 municipalities across five states. It looks like the scope of a licence rather than users, so we do not use it.
- The NGO's founding year was not confirmed.
- This page covers Mexico only. We did not research community cellular networks in the UK.