Get involved

Six ways to take action

1. Map the gaps in your area

   Collect examples from neighbours: "our tenement only has one provider", "mobile signal drops at the school gate". Pair stories with postcodes only if people consent. Local evidence is what changes what officials say.

2. Attend community council meetings

   Ask for a standing agenda item on connectivity. Community councils have formal routes to local authorities — and attendance shapes what gets raised. You don't need to speak; showing up sends a signal.

3. Write to your councillor

   We've written a template letter you can personalise in about two minutes. It asks specific, sourced questions about R100, social tariffs, and local digital inclusion — the kind of question that's hard to ignore.

   Use the template letter →

4. Show up in democratic spaces

   Submit questions to full council or scrutiny committees when budget lines touch digital infrastructure or inclusion contracts. Connect with tenants' organisations where remote work policies assume broadband people may not have.

5. Visit libraries and community centres

   Many digital inclusion programmes meet people where they already go. Ask what timetables look like and whether transport or childcare is a barrier to participation.

6. Help WIRES directly

   We welcome volunteers for research, plain-language editing, accessibility reviews, and local "open calls" where we crowdsource broken links or confusing council leaflets. Any time you have — five minutes or five hours a week — is useful.

Start or join a local group

WIRES local groups map their council area, attend meetings, and give neighbours somewhere to turn. If your area doesn't have one yet, starting one takes as few as two or three people and a first conversation.

Find a local group Start one