Sao Paulo plans 100 Internet access points - Brazil
bnamericas.com
Thursday, June 20, 2002 16:32 (GMT-0300)
The city government of Sao Paulo expects to have installed 100 'telecentros,' or free Internet access centers, by year-end in some of the city's poorest neighborhoods, according to the municipality's e-government coordinator Sergio Amadeu, quoted by Brazilian financial daily Gazeta Mercantil.
Sao Paulo already has 19 such access points, each center offering 20 computers with broadband Internet access, as well as computer classes. The centers were created in partnership with private initiatives including Sao Paulo-based natural gas distributor Comgas and Spain's Telefonica (NYSE: TEF), controller of Sao Paulo-based fixed line operator Telesp.
The municipality projects an investment of 9.5mn reais (US$3.43mn) in the project this year, on top of 2mn reais invested last year.
The city's e-government unit was selected to present its access proliferation model at a digital divide conference in Mexico this week, organized by the World Federation of United Cities and the International Union of Local Authorities, both entities created during the cold war.
In addition the unit will present technology solutions designed to help improve governmental processes.
Brazil's e-government services, measured by quality and volume of information, placed fifteenth in a study which analyzed the preparedness of 75 countries in migrating to the virtual economy, according to Harvard University's IT Group in a study conducted last month. |
