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Case Studies on Development of the Internet in Latin America and the
Caribbean
Saúl HAHN
<shahn@oas.org>
Organization of American States
USA
Contents
Through the Hemisphere Wide Inter-University Scientific and Technological
Information Network (RedHUCyT) project, the Organization of American States
(OAS) helped local initiatives in the member states in either the creation or
expansion of networks in their countries. Through the years, RedHUCyT (http://www.redhucyt.oas.org/) became a major
contributing force for the development of the Internet in Latin America and the
Caribbean region. It collaborated and coordinated with academic institutions,
governments, phone companies (PTT) and the private sector to create many of the
first Internet points of presence (POPs) in this region. Essential to these
developments were the local network managers and officers at participant
institutions, and their dedicated teams of experts, who made these projects
possible.
Close collaboration was established with many agencies, in particular the
U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), through its ICM program-headed by Dr.
Steve Goldstein, which facilitated international Internet connectivity in the
United States through an Internet port facility in Homestead, Florida.
Important collaboration was established with many of the Science and Technology
Councils in the member states. The University of Costa Rica (UCR) and the
National Research Network of Costa Rica (CRNet) -- headed by Dr. Guy de
Teramond -- provided, through the years, continuous technical support to
countries in Central America and the Caribbean. Another important collaboration
was from the Network Startup Resource Center (NSRC) of the University of Oregon
-- headed by Randy Bush. The RedHUCyT, through its Caribbean University Project
(CUNet), in partnership with the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), in the early
stages of networking development provided basic support to the Caribbean
countries to implement their first electronic nodes for mail exchange. Soon
thereafter, the first full interactive Internet POP was established in the
Caribbean (outside Puerto Rico) at the University of the West Indies (UWI) and
the Technological University (previously CAST) in Jamaica (Keith Manison from
UWI, Archie Marshall a former OAS consultant, and Dr. Guy de Teramond played
key roles). An earth station for satellite communication was recently (1999)
provided to UWI by OAS and will allow for the rapid expansion of their network.
Also, recent support and equipment was provided to many educational
institutions in the Caribbean to facilitate their full access to the Internet
and to expand their campus information technology facilities. Some examples are
the National Institute for Higher Education in Trinidad and Tobago, the
Barbados Community College, the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College in Saint
Lucia and the College of the Bahamas. Another important recent example is the
project's support in funding the equipment (routers, CSUs/DSUs, servers) that
was critical in getting five of the main universities connected to full
Internet, and initiating the development of the Dominican Republic's academic
backbone that supports the Red Universitaria Dominicana Académica y
Científica (Cf. Dominican Republic).
The United States and other OAS member states provided substantial funding.
To match these contributions for training, equipment and seed funding, the
governments and participant institutions of member states have made major
investments in telecommunications. Also, in recent years, the Inter-American
Council for Integral Development of the OAS (CIDI) provided important
additional funding to RedHUCyT, which also sponsors workshops and seminars in
the region in order to improve skills, share knowledge and train network
managers. During the past decade, important support was provided to the Latin
American School of Networks (ESLARED), and many of the Latin American and
Caribbean Networking Forum workshops that were held annually in different
countries of the region. ESLARED is based at the Universidad de los
Andes (ULA) in Merida, Venezuela. ESLARED organized these important events
in 1992, 1995 and 1997. ESLARED is headed by Ermanno Pietrosemoli and Edmundo
Vitale, from ULA. The first edition of the Forum, "Inter-American Networking,"
was held in Rio de Janeiro, 1991, coordinated by the Brazilian national
research network Rede National de
Pesquisa (RNP) and OAS/RedHUCyT, an event sponsored by several
international and national institutions.
A recent example of an OAS co-sponsored training workshop is the Second Workshop of Internet Networking
Technologies (general coordinator, Edmundo Vitale from ULA) that took place
at ULA in Mérida, Venezuela, 14-19 June 1999. This activity was part of
the Network Training Workshop -- held in parallel in San Jose, California, and
Merida -- as part of the annual INET meetings of the Internet Society (ISOC). The event was organized by the Forum of
Latin-American and Caribbean Networks (ENRED) and ESLARED, and co-sponsored by
the World Bank and other international organizations. This workshop trained
professionals from Latin America and the Caribbean in the design, operation and
maintenance of Internet networks. Hundreds of participants from this and past
workshops, including ESLARED, have played a vital role in developing networks
and starting Internet connections in their countries of origin. In this year's
event a new group of professionals in the networking field was instructed on
the theoretical and practical aspects of planning, establishing, and managing
the infrastructure of domestic and national networks. In 1998, The Workshop em Tecnologia de Redes
para America Latina e Caribe (WALC '98), also as part of the parallel
ISOC workshops, took place at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).
General coordination was provided by RNP (Jose Luiz Ribeiro Filho,
coordinator), with support from ESLARED and ENRED. This event also had support
from the World Bank, OAS and other international organizations.
In Chile, close collaboration was established with Red Universitaria
Nacional (REUNA) -- headed by Florencio Utreras -- the Science and Technology
Council (CONICYT) and the Catholic University, particularly for training
activities. The INFOCYT project, a regional portal for science and
technology supported by OAS, was launched during a regional meeting in
Santiago, Chile, organized under the auspices of REUNA and CONICYT with support
of Red Cientifica Peruana (RCP) and the other participants' countries. CONICYT
is currently providing general coordination, and during 1999, the project
branched out to other countries including Guatemala and El Salvador, which also
host the system.
Computer networking in Latin America and the Caribbean is a relatively new
phenomenon. Most of the networks were established only during the past seven or
eight years. Previously, several countries only had e-mail facilities, in the
form of store and forward UUCP (Unix-To-Unix Copy Protocol), or something
similar. Brazil and Mexico (1989) were the first countries in Latin America to
connect to full interactive Internet. Since the introduction of Web-based
systems, many of the regional networks have grown impressively. The Internet
research company, Internet Software Consortium (ISC, previously Network
Wizards, http://www.isc.com/), reports that
several nations within the region have more than 1000 hosts each (as of January
2000): 446,444 in Brazil; 404,873 in Mexico; 142,470 in Argentina; 40,565 in
Colombia; 40,190 in Chile; 25,385 in Uruguay; 14,281 in Venezuela; 9,230 in
Peru; 7,471 in Costa Rica; 6,754 in the Dominican Republic; 4,852 in Trinidad
& Tobago; 1,922 in Ecuador; 1,772 in Guatemala; 1,660 in Paraguay; 1,235 in
Panama and 1,028 in Nicaragua. These statistics include only geographic or
"country code," ccTLD, domains. They do not account for hosts in the countries
registered in the "generic top level domains," gTLD, ("com", "org", "net" and
others). It is important to emphasize that the rate of growth of hosts in many
of the Latin American countries is amongst the highest in the world. For
example, the number of hosts for Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica and
Trinidad & Tobago doubled between January 1999 and January 2000, and grew
more than 90% in Guatemala and Peru. In this same period Mexico had an
impressive increase of 259%. Still, in absolute numbers, connectivity in the
region remains small compared to the more information-technology-advanced
countries. The number of Internet users in Latin America and the Caribbean
consists of only 2 or 3% of the total worldwide Internauts. According to
Jupiter Communications (http://www.jup.com/)
"more than nine million online users in Latin America will log on by the end of
1999, and the number will increase to 38 million in 2003 -- this projected
increase of nearly 50 percent annually marks it as the region with the highest
expected growth rate internationally, exceeding that of the U.S., Europe, and
Asia." According to Jupiter, however, penetration within the region will remain
low, reaching a projected 6.8 percent of the population in 2003 from a current
penetration number of 1.8%. An interesting statistic rate is the number of
hosts (in the ccTLD domains) per 1000 people, which provides one measure of
Internet penetration. The following countries in the region, with over 1000
hosts, have a rate larger than 1: Uruguay 7.7; Mexico 4.3; Argentina 4.0;
Trinidad & Tobago 3.71; Chile 2.74; Brazil 2.7; Costa Rica 2.16 and
Colombia 1.01. (The World Bank Atlas 1999 was used as a source for the
population up to 1997, and ISC for the host count.)
Recently, the OAS provided earth stations for satellite communication to the
UCR and CRNet, UWI, and the National Science and Technology Research Council (CONCYT) in Guatemala. Through the years,
CRNet, under the leadership of Dr. de Teramond, has had a vigorous expansion. It recently installed an additional new
receive-only antenna with a capacity growth up to 10 Mbps to deal with traffic
congestion, and UCR completed an ambitious project to interconnect about 80
different locations with a state-of-the art high-capacity campus network. As a second
phase of the original OAS projects that supported the first full Internet
connections in Honduras and Nicaragua, in 1999 a project was developed -- with
the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the support of a local Internet
service provider (ISP) -- to install new networks in Nicaragua. This will allow
access to many more academic institutions located in remote areas, particularly
in the Caribbean region. These include the Bluefields Indian and Caribbean
University (BICU) and the Universidad de las Regiones Autonomas de la Costa
Caribe Nicaragüense, among others.
Early OAS projects provided satellite earth stations to the National
Research Council of Mexico, Red Cientifica Peruana (RCP) of Peru,
Universidad de los Andes in Venezuela and the Universidad Nacional de
Asuncion in Paraguay. These facilities, added to other basic equipment,
helped some countries in the initial phase to expand and develop the networks,
and in others, to facilitate growth. RCP -- under the leadership of Jose
Soriano -- for example, has had through the years a spectacular growth, and RCP
has expanded to new and innovative projects. In Bolivia, RedHUCyT originally
assisted the Bolivian Data Network (BOLNet)
(headed by Clifford Paravicini) to provide full Internet access for the first
time, in 1995. Three main public universities were connected to the Internet.
In Argentina support was provided to the Secretariat of Science and Technology,
and to RETINA -- the Red de Teleinformatica Argentina -- that connects to the
U.S. Internet through a separate satellite link. The National Nuclear Energy
Commission (CNEA) is one of RETINA's main institutional members which
integrates more than 25 education and research institutions. Some of these
networks have become national service providers with thousands of users. In
Uruguay, for example, basic equipment was provided to the Technological
Laboratory of Uruguay (LATU) to
facilitate its connection to the Internet through the Universidad de la
Republica. Also, support was given to the National Institute of
Agricultural Research (INIA) to implement the Regional Network for Information on Agricultural
Research in the Southern Cone, a regional consulting service with databases
with information about researchers, publications and projects on
agriculture.
Case studies
Paraguay
Paraguay is located in the central part of South America and is a member of
MERCOSUR along with Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. In 1995, the OAS, through
RedHUCyT, in coordination with the Universidad Nacional de Asuncion and the
Catholic University, established a project to install the first fully
interactive Internet POP in the country. At the time, because of lack of
infrastructure, the PTT (ANTELCO) could not provide a high-speed circuit
outside the country. Therefore the adopted solution was for the OAS to provide
an earth station for satellite communication. The universities paid for the
recurrent telecommunication satellite link, via PanAmSat, to Homestead,
Florida. The NSF paid for the port charge connection in the United States to
facilitate Internet access. The OAS also provided for additional equipment like
routers, modems and workstations, as well as training and consultants. Blanca
de Trevisan and her excellent group of people, from the Universidad Nacional de
Asuncion, did an outstanding job of putting the project together. This new
technology provided Paraguay with a technological boost because for the first
time it allowed students and professors at the university to learn a new form
of communication and access to information. This was a medium quite different
from the basic telephony to which they were accustomed. Very soon, new ISPs
were established in Paraguay. Some of these were advised by the same students
who participated in the original installation at the Universidad Nacional de
Asuncion. Also, private companies realized the potential that this
technology could offer to their businesses and started to install similar
equipment. Some companies, especially banks, used this technology and created
private networks. Companies like Uninet, Netvision, Rieder and others were
established in Asuncion, the capital city.
It is remarkable that this project, which began at the university level to
provide Internet access for students and professors, grew into a major
development for the country. Companies like Citibank started to use satellite
technology for their private use. Previously, this was not even contemplated
because of the lack of personnel trained in the use of telecommunications and
information equipment. This, in turn, reduced costs for these corporations and
facilitated access to their offices both in Paraguay and abroad. Some ISPs were
also established outside the capital city. Some companies that have installed
this infrastructure include:
- EDESA: commercial company, with one central station and three remote
ones;
- BNF-Cellular: banking, one central and 17 remote stations;
- of Parana: banking, one central and five remote stations; and
- Ministerio de Hacienda: government, one central and 17 remote
stations.
(The author wishes to acknowledge Gerardo Jimenez Guerra from Interlink
Communications, Inc., for his excellent personal report and communication on
private-sector developments in Paraguay.)
The OAS/RedHUCyT funded similar projects in Guatemala that resulted in
establishing the first full Internet connections at seven universities and
research centers in that country in 1995. These efforts were coordinated with
the National Science and Technology Council (CONCYT), headed by Magaly Morales,
the Telecommunications and phone company (GUATEL), the main universities,
coordinators of the national project MAYANet, and the support of UCR and CRNet.
The National Network of Guatemala, MAYANet, was
connected to the Internet in December 1995 through a satellite link to the
United States. Key negotiations were needed between CONCyT and GUATEL to ensure
the signature of the contract required for the international link to the United
States so as to guarantee the sustainability of the project. During Phase I of
MAYANet, communications equipment, training and technical assistance were
provided. This facilitated the interconnection of several institutions,
including CONCYT, GUATEL, the Universidad de San Carlos, Universidad del
Valle, Universidad Rafael Landivar, Universidad Mariano Galvez,
Universidad Francisco Marroquin, the Central American Institute for
Industrial Research and Technology (ICAITI) and the Institute of Nutrition for
Central America and Panama (INCAP). The communications costs are shared by the
institutions in accordance with a special agreement reached between GUATEL and
CONCyT.
Phase II of the MAYANet project involved the investment of additional OAS
voluntary funds allocated to the Guatemalan government. Phase II implemented a
metropolitan backbone with several POPs, and the expansion of local area
networks (LANs) in many institutions, in benefit of the academic, scientific
and technological sectors. In addition, the expansion of MAYANet to the
interior of the county was promoted. Guatemala has gone through an important
telecommunications privatization process that included the sale of GUATEL,
currently TELGUA, and new regulations allow private ISP providers to offer
competitive service.
In 1998, with OAS funding, CONCYT bought and installed a terrestrial station
that supports satellite connections of the metropolitan area and regions where
telecommunication infrastructure was nonexistent. This new station also
improved the access to the Internet. This new equipment, which became fully
operational in early 1999, is an important component to attend to the demand
for a reliable network for the academic and scientific community of Guatemala
and the region. The terrestrial station not only improves connection to the
Internet, but it also makes possible teleconferences, videoconferences and
distance learning programs. This new station will also serve as an alternate
access to the Internet for Guatemala and other Central American countries.
In collaboration with CONCYT, RedHUCyT sponsored the First Central
American Seminar on Internet Security, held in Guatemala on 27-28 May 1997.
Network managers from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama
attended the event, as well as instructors from Mexico and Spain. The seminar
advanced several legal and technical issues on Internet security. Similar
Regional Workshops were held in Panama in 1998 and 1999 (see Panama).
CONCYT also plays an important role in the expansion of the regional project
on Information System on Science and Technology (INFOCYT) in Central America.
Guatemala, in coordination with National Councils of the region, developed a
Web site on science and technology to serve users from Central America and
Panama. This site is now part of the INFOCYT regional information system.
A very interesting project is Intered in Panama. The first full
Internet connections in Panama were established under the leadership of
Universidad Technologica de Panama (UTP). Originally, in June 1994, the OAS/RedHUCyT supported the implementation of the first full Internet nodes in
Panama through Pannet -- a consortium of universities -- with technical
assistance, provision of routers and communications servers, and training of
network managers. Pannet, under the leadership of UTP, was connected through a
microwave link to Costa Rica, facilitating Internet access of the Technological
University of Panama (UTP), the University of Panama (UP), and the University
of Santa Maria la Antigua. The project had important technical assistance from
CRNet. This was a pioneer project in the region because it allowed a
terrestrial microwave link between two Central American countries, which then,
in turn, shared the satellite link to the United States, operated by CRNet. At
the time, a very similar project was established with the Universidad Nacional
de Ingenieria, in Nicaragua.
Thereafter, several commercial ISPs were established in Panama. The largest
have their own independent satellite connections to the United States. The
problem was that customers of different providers had to interchange packets
through these satellite connections, even for local traffic. With the
implementation of Intered this is no longer necessary. Intered is a national
access point that allows the interchange of local information without leaving
the country. This project sponsored by OAS, under the leadership of the
National Secretariat for Science and Technology (SENACYT) and Pannet, is a
model for the region. Randy Bush and Dave Meyer of the NSRC trained the
participating Panamanian engineers in BGP (Border Gateway Protocol), peering
points, the Internet Routing Registry, and Autonomous Systems. They also built
the tools to automate configuration, and helped set up the InteRed eXchange in
July 1997 -- the first open, cooperative exchange point in the region (cf.
http://www.redhucyt.oas.org/webing/ABUSH/sld001.htm).
Intered has its own organization -- the Asociacion Intered Panama is
formally in charge of the project and the Intered node -- and is funded by its
members (ISPs) according to its by-laws. Intered has been operating for the
past two years and has nine institutional members. Included on its Board are
Orbinet, Sinfonet, Cable & Wireless, Pannet and SENACyT. According to
information recently provided by Asociacion Intered, each provider has an E1
connection to the central location and the average traffic is 1,862.8 Kbps
income and 1,780.8 Kbps output.
In October 1999, a regional Workshop on Internet Security was sponsored by
RedHUCyT in Panama and was coordinated by SENACyT and Asociacion Intered. Some
of the topics include importance of network security, access rights and control
of networks, security classification, snifters, configuration and installation
of firewalls, cryptography, certification authority, infrastructure of
public/private key, etc. A similar workshop was also held in Panama during 1998
coordinated by Pannet and SENACyT with participants from all the Central
American countries.
RedHUCyT and UPR, through its Caribbean University Project
(CUNet),
originally provided basic assistance to the Catholic University (PUCMM) in the
Dominican Republic to implement its first electronic node for mail exchange. As
mentioned in the introduction, in its early stages, CUNet facilitated access to
electronic mail, for the first time, to many universities and institutions in
the Caribbean.
Extensive negotiations with the government, university representatives and
the phone company (CODETEL) of the Dominican Republic were conducted to design
a project for the full Internet connection of institutions of the Red
Universitaria Dominicana Académica y Científica (RUDAC),
including the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra
(PUCMM), the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD), the Technological
Institute of Santo Domingo (INTEC), CONES and UNAPEC, among others. The project
involved significant OAS funding for the purchase of several high-capacity
routers, modems and additional communications hardware and software. Jose
Dominguez -- a national from the Dominican Republic and ex-professor at INTEC
-- currently at NSRC, played a key role in these developments as the technical
coordinator for the project, in collaboration with Rodham's Mejia, vice
president of PUCMM, and his team of experts. All these universities are now
fully connected and part of the Internet academic backbone. For more
information please refer to Rudi's Web page at INTEC: http://www.rudac.net.do/
As part of the training activities to strengthen this project, the
OAS/RedHUCyT sponsored the First Network Technology Workshop - RUDAC in
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The four-day workshop was held 20-23
September 1999 in the PUCMM with approximately 40 participants of RUDAC and
other institutions. The NSRC provided
technical assistance and the instructors for the workshop. Cisco Systems and O'Reilly & Associates also sponsored this
event. Cisco Systems lent routers, and O'Reilly & Associates donated about
300 books that were distributed among the participants. Jose Dominguez and
Steve Hunter from NSRC and Rodham's Mejia and his team at PUCMM provided
general coordination.
Topics covered in the RUDAC workshop included Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) network administration, UNIX security,
Domain Name System configuration, IP routing design, providing Web services in
an academic setting, Squid caching, and Internet mailing list management, and
the workshop concluded with a session on organizing Help Desks to answer
questions and assist end users with problems.
The implementation of the National Network of El Salvador (SVNet) in August 1996 was the result of
continuous negotiations between diverse institutions of the country and the
coordination and consultants of RedHUCyT. Of particular importance were the
negotiations between the National Telecommunications and phone Company (ANTEL),
the National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) and participant
universities. SVNet phase I facilitated and expanded access to the Internet of
many institutions, including ANTEL, CONACYT, the Universidad de El
Salvador (UES), Universidad Don Bosco, and Universidad
Centroamericana Jose Simeon Cañas (UCA). The project provided
important financial resources for the purchase of routers, communications
servers and additional communications equipment and training and technical
assistance. RedHUCyT also coordinated with CONACYT the implementation of SVNet's Phase II that
expands Internet connectivity to many more institutions in the country.
Equipment was co-collocated at ANTEL and key negotiations were needed between
ANTEL, CONACYT and OAS to complete the project. ANTEL facilitated access lines
to the participant institutions. Access was provided to many institutions,
including various campuses of the University of El Salvador in San Miguel and
Santa Ana -- Facultad Multidisciplinaria de Occidente (UES OCC) and Facultad
Multidisciplinaria de Oriente (UES ORI) -- as well as the National Library,
the Instituto Tecnologico Centroamericano, Universidad Evangelica,
Universidad Politecnica de El Salvador and Casa Presidencial, and the
National Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUSADES). SVNet's
Phase II plays a major role by expanding a national backbone in the country and
by facilitating the consolidation of the Central American Backbone that will
interconnect all the Central American countries among themselves, without
having to first route packets through the United States. As with Guatemala and
Panama, UCR and CRNet provided important initial technical support for this
project. El Salvador has gone through an important telecommunications
privatization process that included the sale of ANTEL, currently TELECOM, and
allows private ISP providers to offer competitive service. CONACYT also plays
an important role in consolidating the INFOCYT project that, as mentioned
above, is a portal for science and technology in the region.
In the early stages of CUNet, basic equipment was provided for the
implementation of an electronic node at the University College of Belize (UCB)
for e-mail Internet exchange. Connections were made via dial-up to UPR, and
later through NSRC, using a UNIX box, at the time (1994) the only e-mail hub in
Belize.
Negotiations between UCB and the Belize Telecommunications Limited
(BTL)
provided the framework to implement a project that facilitated the University's
access to full Internet connectivity. OAS/RedHUCyT provided the
telecommunication s equipment and BTL provided free access to the College.
The OAS sponsored a Belize Schools Internet Workshop at the Corozal
Community College, 31 March - 5 April 1997, with the collaboration of BTL and
the participant schools. This Seminar also had local financial support and
support from Belizeans living abroad. Many network managers received hands-on
training on computers and telecommunications, including configuration of
hardware and software programming. The success of this workshop encouraged the
participant schools to organize and develop a project for their interconnection
to Internet with OAS funding. In recognition of the assistance provided, the
Belize Postal Service released on 22 July 1998 stamps in commemoration of the
50th Anniversary of the OAS. On issuing the stamps the Postal Service of Belize
made the following remarks:
The OAS Provides Funds, Computer Equipment and Training for Schools and the
Internet in Belize. In a project begun in 1997, the Organization of American
States provided Computer Equipment and Training to enable Belize High Schools
to link to the Internet via the free connection provided to each school. 32
High Schools and affiliated Institutions were included in this project and each
school received Networking Components, and a Modem to link their Computer labs
to the Internet. The OAS also funded Training with two workshops in Corozal and
Belize City, with provision for a third. There is also an electronic forum for
discussing ideas and problems of a technical or non-technical nature for all
schools.
It is relevant to mention that Brian Candler, who at UCB was at some point
local coordinator of CUNet and played a key role in overseeing these
developments, including his role as principal instructor of Corozal, became
very active in volunteer training for other fellow networkers. In particular,
he has participated for a number of years as an instructor in the "Networking
Technology Workshops for Countries in the Early Stages of Internet Networking"
organized by ISOC within their INET annual meetings. He is currently assisting
NSRC with a project at the University of Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic
of Congo, Africa, providing e-mail services to several academic
departments.
All of these projects, originally established to allow access to the
academic community, had totally unexpected ramifications for other sectors,
especially the commercial one. Experts trained under the project's programs
have, in some cases, become entrepreneurs in their own countries. Initial work
with the academic sector resulted in an unexpected partnership among
government, university, and private sectors -- a cooperative effort that
produced vigorous development of the Internet in the region.
These results encouraged the development of the telecommunication sector due
to the introduction of satellite and other technologies and advanced
information systems. But, most important, this expansion was possible due to
the development of specialized human resources capable of handling and
implementing these complex technologies within their own countries in a
self-sustaining manner. It is important to emphasize, as has been stressed by
Randy Bush and other colleagues, that cultivating the volunteer ethic to assist
fellow networkers in the same way that you were once helped has been invaluable
in terms of scaling the Internet. So many instructors who have devoted their
time and effort to train and help others have provided this help.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not
necessarily those of the OAS.
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