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 From
November 10, 2004, free Internet access will
be available from any point in Constitution Square
in Santiago de Chile via a Wi-Fi connection launched by the
Government in conjunction with private providers of this technology.
Connection is made via an access point
provided through the Ministry of the Interior and the Under
Secretariat of Telecommunications. This is a
pilot project, for future replication in public squares of Chile’s
main cities.
The launch ceremony was headed up by President
Ricardo Lagos and the Minister of Public Works, Transport, and
Telecommunications, Javier Etcheberry. Also present were the Assistant
Secretary of Telecommunications, Christian Nicolai, and the General
Managers of Cisco and Intel, the technology equipment companies that
provided support for this initiative.
The President noted that this was another example
of the advances Chile had made in the information technology area.
"The Government’s progress in implementing the digital agenda, and our
progress as a government are perhaps among our greatest successes,"
noted President Ricardo Lagos in inaugurating the "Citizen Cyber
Square" project.
Minister Etcheberry underscored that the impetus
given this project demonstrated that Chile was identifying intelligent
and imaginative solutions to its connectivity problems. "All Chilean
sectors will be reached with technology as advanced as that installed
today opposite the Moneda Palace. The Government is working to improve
Internet access in remote and rural areas and among low-income sectors
and remote populations,” he added.
For his part, Under Secretary
Secretary Nicolai noted that "By providing easy and secure Internet
connection, initiatives such as this are accelerating Chile’s digital
transformation.”
To disseminate Chilean technological development
and demonstrate the potential of broadband wireless access, the
Government developed this project in conjunction with two of the
leading multinational companies offering wireless connectivity: Intel
and Cisco.
"Internet access and education have become major
factors in bridging the digital divide in Chile, as indicated in the
most recent report of the World Economic Forum. This joint
public/private sector effort is unquestionably one of the best tools
to make Chile still more competitive in the world," said Alvaro
Croquevielle, General Manager, Cisco Systems Chile.
Laurentzi de Sasia, General Manager of Intel’s
offices in Chile, explained that " Intel® Centrino® mobile technology
also offers users lighter weight portable computers, with better
screens and longer battery life, affording them an ever better
experience of mobile computing and enabling them to increase their
productivity."
This experiment will be replicated in the central
squares of Chilean cities.
The Citizen Cyber Square project consists of
implementation of a wireless IP network with free Internet access,
initially for a one-year period. This service is designed to offer the
public Internet access in open areas of city squares via devices such
as notebooks, PDAs, and cell phones that can support Wi-Fi technology.
The technical solution will be implemented by
installing free Internet access points in different areas of
Santiago’s Constitution Square, and in the corresponding public
squares of the country’s main cities. These will be connected to a
central server which, in turn, will have a 256 Kbps Internet
connection.
The central server, or Access Controller, will
administer the service’s user connections and advise users of service
policies and conditions of use – to be interpreted as intended to
promote responsible and healthy use – and will also disseminate the
amended regulations and applications developed thereunder.
To achieve the objective of expanding wireless
mechanisms and wireless connection systems, the Under secretariat of
Telecommunications has amended the technical provisions governing use
of the 2.4 GHz band so as to authorize outdoor wireless use.
The amended regulations will make it possible to
develop important applications, such as implementation of wireless
connection areas in cities for public and/or private connectivity; low
cost private connectivity in buildings and offices; and extension of
networks to rural areas, principally as more powerful point-multipoint
solutions and principally for distribution to end users.
Under Secretariat of
Telecommunications
Chile
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