The Ecuadorian Ministry of Telecommunications and the Information Society (Mintel), and the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (Citel) have signed a memorandum of understanding to connect rural and difficult-to-access areas of the country.
The agreement was signed earlier this month between Vianna Maino, head of Mintel, and Oscar León, Executive Secretary of Citel.
TeleGeography's CommsUpdate reports that Citel will provide technical advice to connect rural and inaccessible areas under Ecuador’s Digital Agenda strategy to reduce the digital divide.
Citel is an entity of the Organization of American States. Its mission statement, says its website, is to facilitate and promote the integral and sustainable development of interoperable, innovative, and reliable telecommunications/ICTs in the Americas, under the principles of universality, equity and affordability.
According to news website TeleSemana.com, Maino said the agreement was not just about providing connectivity but delivering education, health, training and entrepreneurship, among other benefits.
The head of Mintel also cited recent government telecommunications indicatives that included connecting 14 more rural parishes, the transition from 2G to 4G in 285 areas of the country and the installation of 887 free Wi-Fi points nationwide.
There’s still some way to go, however. Ecuador, at 54 percent, is only ahead of Bolivia (44 percent) when it comes to internet use in Latin America.
