Intel Equips Amazon River Outpost With Wireless

The Internet, a ubiquitous and essential fixture in just about every developed nation, is slowly but surely reaching into some of the world's most remote outposts -- courtesy of such companies as Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) and Embratel.

As part of World Ahead, a new initiative established earlier this year to bring technology to developing areas, Intel has created a wireless high-speed Internet network for inhabitants of a remote town on an island in the Amazon River. Intel plans to invest more than US$1 billion in such projects over the next five years.

Closing the Gap

Parintins, Brazil, has roughly 114,000 residents and all the trappings of a typical small community, including a medical center, a university, a community center and, of course, schools. Through Intel's World Ahead Program, these facilities are now connected to the Internet. The university has also received telemedicine equipment that enables collaboration with outside institutions via video conferencing and other high-tech tools.

"We've been blessed with this project," said Parintins Mayor Frank Bi Garcia. "We're really isolated and don't have the conditions to receive the Internet with cables. So we're receiving it wireless, from antennas, from satellites -- access to wireless Internet is a great pleasure for us. This project will prepare this generation for the future."

Telemedicine Initiative

This initiative is one of many Intel has launched in recent years in both developing nations and remote areas of developed countries. The company has similar projects underway in China, Vietnam, Egypt and Turkey, Intel spokesperson Agnes Kwan told TechNewsWorld. "Parintins is among our more interesting projects, but it is by no means the only one," she said.

Intel and its partners wired the town's facilities by installing a WiMAX network at the healthcare center, the two public schools, a community center and nearby Amazon University. WiMAX has a transmitting range of up to 30 miles. The wireless infrastructure also utilizes short-range WiFi technology.

Amazon University is using its newfound connectivity to start a telemedicine program developed jointly with the medical school of Sao Paulo University, which also has received equipment donations from Intel.

Exporting the Model

Intel plans to replicate what it has done in the Amazon in other isolated communities in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Education -- particularly training educators to use new technologies -- is a key focus of the company's plans.

In Parintins, for example, Intel has trained 24 teachers through its Intel Teach Program. The company now wants to educate another million teachers in Latin America to better understand the effective use of technology in the classroom.

Other participants in the project include Cisco, CPqD, Embratel, Proxim and the Bradesco Foundation, as well as Amazonas State University, Amazonas Federal University and Sao Paulo University.