COSTA RICA
The OAS Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI), approved significant funds for a national project for Costa Rica, within the framework of RedHUCyT. The project involved the purchase of a ground station for satellite communications. The antenna strengthens the Internet access of the country's academic and government sectors and facilitates the interconnection of more institutions through the Costa Rican Academic Network (CRNet). The antenna was inaugurated by the President of Costa Rica and the OAS Secretary General in April 1997. Also, the project complements the interconnection of other Central American academic networks, by using the current communications infrastructure and equipment donated within the different OAS/RedHUCyT regional projects. For the implementation of this Central American Backbone, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE) approved a non-refundable loan to the Costa Rican government. Within this context, Costa Rica and Nicaragua established a digital link in November 1996 and, in the following months, other Central American countries will interconnect to the backbone. The OAS/RedHUCyT will support the connection of Panama to this regional backbone.

Pictures of antenna inauguration

During the 1992-1994 period, RedHUCyT provided resources to broaden the communications channel of the University of Costa Rica and the Costa Rican National Research Network and financed a microwave link between the University of Costa Rica and the National Engineering University (UNI) in Managua, Nicaragua and supported the interconnection of Panama to CRNet. Also, with the support of consultants from the University of Costa Rica (UCR) and CRNet, RedHUCyT has been providing technical assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua and Panama. In March of 1997, the OAS/RedHUCyT signed an agreement with the University of Costa Rica (UCR) to provide technical assistance to other Central American and Caribbean countries.

•   Letter from the President of Costa Rica to General Secretary of the OAS (PDF Format, Spanish version only)

EL SALVADOR
The implementation of the National Network of El Salvador (SVNet), in August 1996, was the result of continuous negotiations between diverse institutions of the country and the coordination and consultants of RedHUCyT. SVNet's Phase I facilitated access to the Internet of many institutions, including: the National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT), the national telecommunications company (ANTEL), and the Universities of El Salvador (UES), Don Bosco, and Central American Jose Simeon Cañas (UCA). RedHUCyT provided important financial resources for the purchase of routers, communications servers, and additional communications equipment, as well as for training and technical assistance. Currently, RedHUCyT is coordinating with CONACYT the implementation of SVNet's Phase II that will expand Internet connectivity to more institutions in the country, including other campuses of the University of El Salvador in San Miguel and Santa Ana, as well as the National Library, the Polytechnic University, and the National Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUSADES), among others. SVNet's Phase II plays a major role by expanding a national backbone in the country and by facilitating the consolidation of the Central American Backbone, by interconnecting El Salvador with Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. 

  With regards to the current state of the Internet in El Salvador, a recent study carried out in this country states that there is an increase in the demand for the Internet of 20% yearly. This report, which can be found at (http://www.nsrc.org/CENTRAM/SV/Internet-SV-04-2002.PDF), displays, among others, information provided by Internet service providers in El Salvador.

GUATEMALA
The Second INFOCYT Consultation Meeting was held in Guatemala City on July 13-14, 1999, and provided an opportunity to review the goals set in the First Meeting, last year in Santiago, Chile and evaluate the progress of the INFOCYT project. The meeting also served to plan the expansion of INFOCyT phase II to other countries in the region and to coordinate with other Internet based projects on Science and Technology. 

Representatives of OAS and the MERCOCYT, RICYT and INFOCYT projects as well as representatives from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Venezuela and El Salvador were present at the two-day meeting.   

At the meeting were proposed two regional centers. These centers would be responsible for the researching, gathering and inclusion of data in the INFOCyT system. One center would be in charge of data on political issues and other for issues dealing with technical and scientific data.  Guatemala will be responsible for Central American and Argentina will be in charge of the countries of Mercosur. 

The centers will be in charge of:  

·      Developing a manual of instructions for how to add, edit and update information on line.

·      Supporting the development of national centers and to identify topics of high-priority.

·      Incorporating other complementary programs to INFOCyT, such as TECLA and the program of Science and Technology for Development (CYTED). 

·      Defining and promoting a strategy of how to expand INFOCyT into the local information systems. 

At the meeting it was agreed to create an email list to facilitate communication among INFOCYT members and the regional scientific community.

The participants agreed to create on-line manuals, one for technical issues and other manual for on-line help in the input and update of information.

It has approved the addition of a system to better manage the quantity and quality of information added to INFOCyT.  For this matter, Guatemala is evaluating the use of the GLIMPSE, an indexer/search program, for its possible incorporation into the INFOCyT system. An issue to consider is that GLIMPSE is a system application that currently runs only on the UNIX/LINUX operating systems, and does not run in the MS Windows NT Web server.

In 1998, with funds given by the RedHUCyT project,  the National Council for Science and Technology (CONCyT), bought and it installed a terrestrial station that supports satellite connections of the metropolitan area and areas where telecommunication infrastructure was nonexistent. This new station also improved the access to the Internet. This new equipment is an important component  to attend the demand for a reliable network for the academic and scientific community of Guatemala and the region. The terrestrial station not only improves connection to the Internet, but  also it makes possible teleconferences,  videoconference and  learning distance programs. This new station will also serve as an alternate access to the Internet for Guatemala and other Central American  countries.

"In coordination with CONCYT, other institutions, and the support of Costa Rican consultants, the OAS/RedHUCyT supported the implementation of the first Internet node in this country. The National Network of Guatemala, MAYANet, was connected to the Internet in December 1995 through a satellite link to the United States. During the Phase I of MAYANet, RedHUCyT provided significant funds for communications equipment, training and technical assistance. This facilitated the interconnection of several institutions, including CONCYT, the Guatemalan Telecommunications Company (GUATEL) , the Universities of San Carlos, del Valle, Rafael Landivar, Mariano Galvez, and Francisco Marroquin, the Central American Institute for Industrial Research and Technology (ICAITI) and the Institute of Nutrition for Central America and Panama (INCAP). The communications costs are paid by the participant institutions within a special agreement reached between GUATEL and the government of Guatemala. " Additional information and views of the initial efforts to connect Guatemala to the Internet can be found at the document "The Dawn of the Internet Era in Guatemala".

The second phase of the MAYANet project is on its way and involves the investment of significant OAS voluntary funds allocated to the Guatemalan government and continuous technical assistance from RedHUCyT. The Phase II of MAYANet is establishing the implementation of a metropolitan backbone with several Points of Presence (POP), and the expansion of Local Area Networks (LAN) in each institution, in benefit of the academic, scientific and technological sectors. In addition, RedHUCyT facilitated the expansion of MAYANet to the interior of the county.

In collaboration with the National Council of Science and Technology (CONCYT) of Guatemala, RedHUCyT sponsored the First Central American Seminar on Internet Security, held in Guatemala on May 27-28, 1997. RedHUCyT financed the attendance of network managers from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama as well as the participation of instructors from Mexico and Spain. The Seminar advanced several legal and technical issues on Internet security.

CONCYT also plays an important role in the expansion of the regional project on Information System on Science and Technology (INFOCYT) in Central America. CONCYT in Guatemala, in coordination with National Councils of the region, developed a Website on science and technology to serve users from Central America and Panama. This site is now part of the INFOCYT information system

Article of the Boletín Electrónico del CONCYT  about the Satellite earth station of CONCYT and the MAYANET project, published in January 1999.  (Spanish version only)

HONDURAS
In coordination with the National Council for Science and Technology (COHCIT), the OAS/RedHUCyT assisted in the implementation of the National Network of Honduras (HONDUNet). HONDUNet was the first Internet node in Honduras and was implemented in May 1995. HONDUNet has its own satellite uplink, through PanAmSat, to the NSF node in Homestead, Florida. More information can be obtained at "Honduras en la Internet".

 RedHUCyT facilitated significant resources for the purchase of communications equipment, training of network managers, and technical assistance. A variety of government and academic institutions participate in the first stage, including COHCIT, the national telecommunications company (HONDUTel), and the Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH), among other institutions. Currently, RedHUCyT is providing additional assistance for the expansion of the network to interconnect additional institutions as well as facilitated training of network managers from this country in Costa Rica.

MEXICO
The OAS provided financial resources for the purchase of a satellite antenna and telecommunications equipment to connect the National Council for Science and Technology (CONACyT) to the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Colorado, US. This equipment was moved to the Center for Research and Advanced Studies (CINVESTAV), in Merida. Another important project of the OAS was the support of the implementation of the Latin American Network of Chemistry - RelaQ, that has a web server at CINVESTAV and facilitates Internet access to regional information about Chemistry.

Also, RedHUCyT is cosponsoring the Symposium "Internet in the Americas" (link to Mexico), to be held during the Fifth Chemical Congress of North America, in Cancun, Mexico, on November 11-15, 1997. The Symposium will facilitate the evaluation of the current status of Internet development in the region and the use of information technologies among scientists, particularly in the area of Chemistry. A Project for the implementation of the Latin American and the Caribbean Networking Information Center (LatiNIC) is under consideration. RedHUCyT would provide communications equipment to the Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education in Ensenada (CICESE), in Baja California, Mexico for the implementation of LatiNIC.

NICARAGUA
RedHUCyT provided continuous support for the purchase of communications equipment, technical assistance, and to cover partial communication expenses for the implementation of the first full Internet node in this country, the Nicaraguan Academic Network (RAIN).Part of the equipment was installed in the facilities of the Nicaraguan Telecommunications Company (ENITel/Telematix), and other participant institutions during 1994. Nicaragua shares the Costa Rican satellite link to the United States. The microwave link established between RAIN and Costa Rica was the first direct Internet interconnection between two Latin American countries. Currently, ENITel/Telematix has an additional satellite link for commercial use.

PANAMA
In August 1996, within the framework of the RedHUCyT project, the OAS Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI) approved significant funds for a national project for Panama, involving the purchase of high-tech communications equipment to interconnect national Internet service providers (ISP). InterRed is the result of sectoral collaboration among Internet providers, Panama’s academic community, the Panamanian Academic Network (PANNet), commercial providers, and the National Secretariat for Science and Technology (SENACyT).

InterRed is an instance of cooperation involving various providers to benefit Panamanian institutions, with the potential to expand to other countries of the region. The network can directly link users of various networks without having to go through the United States, as was the norm. The network facilitates the direct link between Costa Rica and Panama. It is designed to interconnect Panama to the Central American Internet Backbone. Technical collaboration for the project occurred with the Network Startup Resource Center (NSRC) at the University of Oregon. Randy Bush and David Meyer of the NSRC assisted with designing the routing architecture of the exchange, and taught in Panama about BGP, peering points, the Internet Routing Registry, and Autonomous Systems. (For further details see presentation)

Pictures of InterRed inauguration

Originally, in June 1994, the OAS/RedHUCyT supported the implementation of the first full Internet node in Panama, PANNet, through technical assistance, donation of routers and communications servers, and training of network managers. PANNet was also connected through a microwave link to Costa Rica, facilitating the access of the Technological University of Panama (UTP), the University of Panama (UP), and the University of Santa Maria la Antigua, among others. The project had important technical and training assistance from CRNet of Costa Rica.