March 01, 2004
Making Progress
Last night, we began our discussions regarding TECHPoints with the church here in Jinotega. We talked about the physical space for the computers, about security, bandwidth, and other logistical details. We also wanted to know if they really saw the need for this, and asked if it would be used. They definitely saw the benefits of it, and they assured us that many people would be excited to use the service. They believe that it will take some time for the general population in the community to understand the Internet and what it can do for them. However, right away the access portion of the TECHPoint will appeal to university students and others with some technical experience already. As others are trained in how to use the computers, we’ll reach more and more.
Today we are checking on the availability of bandwidth. The local cable company is bringing in new high-speed bandwidth via a microwave wireless system. I used to have a similar system for my home access in Leander, so I’m pretty familiar with how they work. If it’s actually available on time (big if), it will do the job nicely. We’ll also be looking more closely at the physical space they want to use for the project and determining what changes they’ll need to make if any to accommodate the computers.
There are still many questions to answer, but we’ve started the process. The excitement over how this can be used is growing. More soon…