Fiber optic service (FiOS) is currently the newest and fastest internet service to date. Urban areas around the globe already have this. However, some rural areas like Arroyo Prieto in Mexico do not have access to FiOS and still rely on satellite internet providers. Unfortunately, as satellite internet is prone to interferences, clouds and rain showers often mean a slow or broken connection. It is without saying that the residents of Arroyo Prieto have a hard time connecting to the internet, not to mention that subscribing to internet service is expensive (and more expensive if you're in a rural area.)
Fortunately, there are those like Quirino de la Cruz Nicolás. He's an internet dealer who provides Wi-Fi to his community at a rate of 10 pesos (48 cents) an hour. In recent years, however, de la Cruz has had to lower the rate to 5 pesos (24 cents), as four of his neighbors also became internet dealers (and they had better coverage).
De la Cruz and his neighbors may be the last internet dealers of rural Mexico, as Mexican value-added resellers, or VARs, which resell satellite internet company data to rural towns, have arrived and they can provide better deals for the community.
Today, de la Cruz's business has slowed to a trickle. However, when the time comes when better internet deals arrive, he plans to build a cyber café in Arroyo Prieto.
Image Credit: TheDigitalArtist/Pixabay
#Technology #DigitalDivide #Internet #Satellite #FiberOptic #rural #Mexico