Bringing WiMAX to the Amazon

Mae : Wireless Mobility Blog
Mae
| News and views on everything wireless and mobile, from WiFi and WiMAX to 3G and fixed-mobile convergence (FMC).

Bringing WiMAX to the Amazon

A lot of wireless news crosses my desk every day, and after a while much of starts to seem the same. One item caught my attention this morning, however: a report about Intel setting up a wireless, high-speed Internet network in the remote Amazon island town of Parintins .

 

While this network is being promoted as something that will improve the lives of the town’s residents, I can’t help but wonder what unexpected consequences will occur when modern technology is brought into a culture that’s primitive by Western standards.

 

Probably, the results will be positive—better healthcare, more education, etc. But it is true that, in some cases (e.g. the now infamous Harvard study that proved girls on the Fiji Islands developed anorexia after television became available), technology can have unexpected negative affects as well.

 

For this reason, I’m pleased to see that the Amazon network isn’t just being plunked down, but is part of an initiative by Intel to improve the lives of people around the world by helping them gain access to modern technology. The company worked with Brazilian government, business and education officials to install a WiMAX network for use in healthcare centers, public schools, a community center, and Amazon University .

 

It seems to me that this type of initiative should ease Amazonians into the modern world, rather than leaving them to grapple with a sudden influx of technology. What do you think?