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Internet Network In The Amazon

Intel, the California-based chipmaker, together with Brazilian companies and schools, has brought easily accessible broadband to Parintins, 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 between a hospital, two schools, a community center and a university to a broadband network. Until today, the Internet had been accessed mainly 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 will help to eliminate several problems that come with living deep in Brazil`s interior. For example, the hospital will use the link for telemedicine and remote diagnostics. The city only has one hospital and 32 doctors. According to Intel`s estimation, the network will serve about 1,500 students and 10,000 community members.