In 2007, Peruvian telecommunications provider Rural Telecom won a government subsidy for a new initiative, Banda Ancha Rural BAR (Rural Broadband Project). The BAR project aims to install broadband internet and phone services via wireless networks in more than 3,000 rural communities. Rural Telecom acquired the entire central and northern central part of the country, and has begun installing 1,654 internet cabins, more than 1,100 public payphones and hundreds of fixed phone lines in over 2,000 communities. FITEL, a national telecommunications fund, subsidises the project with $8.8 million (USD). In addition to this strategic partnership with the Peruvian government, Rural Telecom will expand the project commercially to provide service to thousands of additional private clients.

Compared with other FITEL projects or similar ICT initiatives in other countries, which normally aim to install expensive satellite (VSAT) networks, the BAR project combines the installation of wireless and mobile technologies with an intense sensitisation, training and content generation campaign. Presently, Rural Telecom is carrying out the following activities in conjunction with technical installation: [Read more →]