Center for A Rural Alternative
El Limon, Dominican Republic
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Center for A Rural Alternative |
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| location: Home | Telecom |
Access to modern telecommunications is increasingly seen as a necessary condition for development. While there has been considerable progress in bringing this access to urban areas, digital inclusion of rural populations remains an elusive goal. The root problem is the high cost of connecting a dispersed population using conventional infrastructure, combined with a lack of visible demonstration of the actual benefits connectivity can bring to rural residents. The problem is compounded by the lack of reliable electricity, or any electricity at all, in the rural areas. El Limon has had wireless community Internet access since 1998. Now the Ocoa South Project is working to develop and demonstrate an integrated, replicable model that includes affordable, effective infrastructure, services that clearly benefit the community, and a community based institutional form that provides social, technical, and economic sustainability. |
Installing Los Martinez Repeater |
| 1.Infrastructure | Connectivity: Wi-Fi provides an inexpensive, reliable way to connect the Ocoa South communities to the Internet (and to each other). Other technologies may be appropriate in other places. Computers: The VIA ITX is the most appropriate computer solution we've seen where electric supply is a problem. |
| 2. Applications | The list is expanding from email, chat, and distance learning to include telephony and telemedicine  about applications |
| 3. Organization | Community-based telecenters, cooperating on a regional basis, provide the organizational base about telecenters |
| 4. History | History of the internet project in El Limon |
| 5. Resources | Useful links to preferred suppliers, software hardware, and to other projects links |
| 6. Getting Started | Advice for those interested in starting a rural internet access project about getting started |
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