Telecenters for Socioeconomic and Rural Development in Latin America & the Caribbean

This report is part of a combined effort by the Social Programs Division of the Regional Operations Department 2 and the Rural Unit and the Information and Communications Technology Division of the IADB's Sustainable Development Department, to establish or strengthen access to and dissemination of technology for economic and social development. The Bank and the international community in general have become interested in telecenters as away to build sensible development strategies, consistent with the situation of poor countries and marginal areas. This strategy holds that there is no point in investing heavily in extending access to those areas, given their limited production capacity and purchasing power, but recognises thepotential impact that increased access could have on their development. "Universal service" to every home is too ambitious a goal in poor countries and low-income areas, but it is possible to have a significant impact through “universal access” by means of shared facilities in a relatively short period of time.A telecenter may be defined as a “shared site that provides public access to information and communications technologies.”

This report focuses on those sites whose main purpose is to increase public access to the internet and to services available over the internet. This study examines some of the main telecenter experiments in Latin America, with particular reference to Central America and the Caribbean, to help guide IADB actions. In the region, Peru has the most persons who use the internet from public access points; that country's experience with cabinas públicas is therefore examined at length. As part of the study, visits were conducted to Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, and Peru. Additional information on experiences in other countries was obtained from secondary sources and through direct communication(via internet, email, and telephone) with telecenter administrators, specialists, and promoters.

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A Spanish version of the report is also available from the same site.