CPqD

US chip manufacturer Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) has installed a WiMax wireless internet network in a remote part of Brazil's Amazon jungle, Intel said in a statement.

The digital transformation of Parintins, a town built on an island in the Amazon river, will help 114,000 residents to access medical, educational and commercial resources through computers, Intel said.

Intel and its collaborators installed a WiMax network for a healthcare center, two public schools, a community center and a university.

"We're really isolated and don't have the conditions to receive the internet with cables. So we're receiving it wireless, from antennas, from satellites," said Parintins mayor Frank Bi Garcia in the statement.

US networking equipment vendor Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), the government's research unit CPqD, long distance operator Embratel (NYSE: EMT), as well as universities in the Amazon state and São Paulo also participated in the project.

Parintins is located 369km or 12 hours by boat from the Amazon state capital of Manaus.

BNamericas.com

September 22, 2006