Posted on Saturday, September 23 2006 @ 7:04 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Intel, together with Brazilian schools and companies, has brought easily accessible broadband to Parintis, an isolated city of 114,000 on an island in the Amazon Basin.
A tower for WiMax, a long-range wireless technology, was set up on the island and connects two schools, a hospital, a community center and a university to a broadband network. To date, the Internet had been accessed primarily with dial-up connections, said Ricardo Carreon, regional director of Intel Latin America. The only broadband options were microwave or satellite. Intel Chairman Craig Barrett came to the city for the formal unveiling of the networks.
The new WiMax network could help eliminate some of the problems that come with living deep in Brazil's interior. The hospital, for instance, will use the link for telemedicine and remote diagnostics. The city only has one hospital and 32 doctors.
"Most likely, if you need a specialist you need to go to Manaus (a 15-hour boat ride away) or Sao Paolo," said Carreon.
More details at
CNET.
