Connectivity Providers Database

From: manceya@sdnp.org.gy To: Maria Dolores Lizarzaburu <mlizarza@darkwing.uoregon.edu> Cc: sghuter@nsrc.org Time: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 11:37:09 -0400 (GYT) Subject: Re: Guyana's Internet Update There have been gradual changes only. The number of users has increased and is now probably over 10,000. Costs have changed little and are still high as a result of the monopoly situation. Internet cafes are fairly widespread on the coast using mainly dialup connections or wireless links to one of several operators whose legality the phone company disputes. There has been little visible progress in the reaching of an agreement between the government and the phone company (GT&T) after years of intermittent efforts. There has been a large increase in cell phone users with more cell phones now than land lines of which there are some 75000. However the service (from GT&T) uses the older technology (digital TDMA- 800 MHz) and internet access is not practical. There is a new cell phone company set up and ready to go (using the newer GSM) but the interconnection agreement with the pricipal phone company has yet to be implemented despite warnings from government. A national ICT strategy and e-commerce legisation still exist only as drafts. The management of the GY top level domain after several years of discussion has for the present been left for the University to implement using name servers offered by the phone company. However the plans have yet to be put into effect. The number of local web sites continues to increase steadily though awareness of this medium and its use still has far to go. Andrew Mancey manceya@sdnp.org.gy SDNP Guyana +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Andrew Mancey Sys Admin, Network/info specialist Phone (592) 227-5989,227-6198 Sustainable Development Networking Programme (Guyana) http://www.sdnp.org.gy