The BC3 was originally called the BC Community Connectivity Consortium and has been in existence for five years. In March of 2004, the BC3 was registered as a non-profit co-operative with the BC government under the name British Columbia Community Connectivity Co-operative.

Representing over 50 community and large regional networks that span the province from Atlin to the Kootenays and from the Peace to Vancouver Island and the Central Coast, the Broadband Community Connectivity Cooperative (The BC3) is a key stakeholder in any deliberations regarding the Digital Divide and the communities of British Columbia.

Since its inception, the BC3 has gained the support of a number of communities across the province and has taken the initiative to work with their building capacity. Four years ago, a broadband conference was held in Kimberley followed by another the following year in Prince George and a larger conference the year after that in Kamloops. Much of the financial support for these endeavours came from the provincial government, while the real effort on the ground came from a list of broadband community champions who are unpaid volunteers.

The BC3 is the only non-profit community-based broadband capacity-building organization in BC, and the only organization funded by the province for this specific purpose.

BC3 members represent the vast majority of "unserved" communities as well as a large number of communities "served" by existing community networks.