The global network of alternative communications is emerging and expanding. Its strength is based on collaboration through social movement organizing and media reform campaigns that adapt information and communication to the benefit of all. These networks are diverse in their locations, type and focus however, they are all joined by a non-commercial ethos and resistance to imperialist power-machines. International alternative networks include individuals and non-profit organizations, as well local sites that promote democratic information reforms and promote the reform of communication. They also create new infrastructures for communication to aid local connections as well as global and regional changes in relation to social groups. They also create a lattice of regional, local-local (especially south-south) and trans-national connections that bypass imperial north-south patterns.
Around the world the task of alternative media began to be noticed in the early 1990s. They seized the newly available alternatives to the corporate production media channels to promote their message of consumer development and community empowerment. Initially they were local but later merged and linked across the national and regional boundaries to create a broader range of media options for everyone.
These alternatives, in contrast to the traditional communications sustainable development infrastructure that relies heavily on capital investments, rely on volunteers to support them. They are able to provide customers with lower prices and more flexible packages. They can also set up infrastructure more quickly, allowing the faster deployment of 5G technology, as well as larger expansion of coverage areas. This will help businesses compete more effectively on the market, and ensure that their customers can access cutting-edge services without undue delay.