x Jose Soriano
Thanks to suscribe me in this list. I wish to suscribe some guys from my staff working in this area here in Peru. As you maybe know we start up with telecenters ( for us called “Cabinas Publicas”) in 1993. We begin this project without any kind of subvention,public policy support or fanfare. It was our reply, our alternative model, to allow the population in general use the new ICT tecnologies.
Two models of Internet are posible in our kind of countrys. The firstone, as we belive, is the wrong Internet model if we see it as the only possible for developped countrys as is proposed generally..
This one is based in intensive phone acces, in people having computers at home and looking the user as a “consumer” of concentrated information, US based generally. To have an more close idea we called the AOL model.
It is based in 67 % of population with phone lines, one of the cheapest tariff, massively subvention from the gouvernement(USA) for “universal access” and 43 % of home computers in “home”.
The reality here is we have less than 5% of telephone lines, one of the more expensive tariffs in the world a telecom monopole who don’t let developpement of any kind of alternative infraestructure, any kind of support policys or subvention and only 400,000 computers for more than 23 millon people.
Then even if we don’t forget and work in the “phone acces” market we need to develop the telecenters or cabinas publicas if we want real democracy, universal acces and real economic developpement of the country. Then we developp the telecenters model with some succes. In another mail i will send you more information about.
At the very beggining we have about 800 monthly users, ( all our projects must be self sustainable) paying 15 dolars a month, but with the main task to put information in the net. Now we have 30 telecenters in the country. Most of them are independant “bussines” but using our way to build it. Now we have a project to set-up 400 to 1000 telecenters in all the country in a franchising model and we are discussing with international “venture capital” to invest 100 millon dolars for this purpose. We are giving consulting to Entel Bolivia, ANTEL from Uruguay, the argentinian gouvernement, the IADB, and several organizations in this and other countrys to install similar projects.
The Cabinas Publicas Project is not, repeat, IS NOT, and informatics project. Is a “developpement” project for education, health, micro and mini entreprises, agriculture, based in training, information production (putting the existence information on line) and giving all kind of services over Internet (more than 40).
Even if the idea is legitimate the idea the political power don’t support the idea. Or worst than this they try to re-discover the wheel doing their own deformed projects
> What are the “Best Practices” for telecentre start-up?
Can find information ( sorry is in spanish) in our URL:
or ask us for more information.
> What are the lead applications to offer within the new telecentre? In the
> age of the Internet, many of us assume that the Web should be the lead
> application.
I don’t think so we must talk about tools like applications. WWW, as e-mail, IRC, videoconference, etc.. are only tools. For me applications are training, distance education, bussines road shows, distance publication, distance video conferences, ip telephony, training in use and production of information, training in word processin and managerial informatics tools for little entreprises and so on… like you do as well in Canada.
> What is the best way to introduce the telecentre service into the > community?
In our case we have 3 diferent kind of telecentres.
Our own, they are main centers also working like POP’s giving support, managerial capabilities, etc.
The “bussines” telecentres” belonging to anybody, who accepts the model and want to invest and manage one or more at their own risk.
The “social interes” telecentres in universities,schools, chamber of comerce, minister of agriculture decentraliced offices, developement banks,local gouvernements, NGO’s, etc.
We must not see the telecenters as a goal itself, is also a tool, then we propose a telecentre to solve concrete problems, or to make people participation in real economic and cultural country life. In all the cases must be self sustainable in order to continue in the time…
> What type of person should you hire to manage or introduce the new
> telecentre service in the community?
In our case this is a too general question. In any case we try to take people interested in technologie but with proved managerial and marketing habilities. It works with two techie operators.
> What type of community should be selected for telecentre location?
At the first moment our choise are mixed. This means where we have enought population to make it self sustainable but not “only” in the higth income level of population. This means in marginal neiborhoods as well in all the provinces or big citys of the country, we spect to install it in more tna 128 citys even at the level of neighborhoods.
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Jose Soriano M.
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RED CIENTIFICA PERUANA (RCP) Telefonos: (51)(1) 422-4848
Augusto Tamayo 125
Lima 27 – San Isidro Fax: 421-8086
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