Mobile Broadband to Enhance Economic and Social Development in the Amazon

Published on: 1st Jan 1970: 1:33am

More than 30,000 people in 175 Amazon villages will get access to e-health and e-education services through mobile broadband. Ericsson and mobile network operator, Vivo are part of a group that will bring mobile broadband connectivity to the Amazonian state of Pará in Brazil.

Among other applications, the project will implement the mobile survey tool that will be used to monitor environmental impacts, diagnose patients, facilitate communication with the communities, and run studies to monitor the life quality index.

Roberto Lima, President of Vivo, Brazil's largest operator, says: "We believe and are working to show that a connected Brazil can do more. This is our motto and a partnership like this reinforces our commitment in attending to and understanding Brazil's development. We will create a learning network through the use of mobile devices to build local educational setup, and to also exchange information."

A recent research by Deloitte shows that a 10 percent increase in mobile penetration leads to a 1.2 percent increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in developing countries.

Fatima Raimondi, President of Ericsson Brazil, says: "Mobile communications play an important role in helping communities to develop on a sustainable basis. Working in partnership means we can achieve things we wouldn't be able to do alone."

Under the scope of the project, Vivo will operate and maintain the infrastructure. The Vivo Institute will develop methodologies and practices for network learning, spreading the opportunities offered by the project. Ericsson will develop and implement the necessary solutions, services and applications for the project. The Saúde & Alegria project will offer local support and will be responsible for training communities, giving guidelines for the use of the application. During the first phase of the project 15 communities will be covered.

The initiative also includes Sony Ericsson, the government of Belterra, CPqD (Brazilian research institute for telecom and IT companies) and the Albert Einstein Hospital, among others.

 

Tags: [ericsson]  [vivo]  [amazon]  [broadband]  [Brazil]