Baron L.F. (1999) Experiments in community access to new communication and information technologies in Bogota, in Gomez R., Hunt P., Lamoureux E. (eds). Telecentre Evaluation and Research: a global perspective, Ottawa: IDRC

Online: http://www.idrc.ca/telecentre/evaluation/nn/09_Exp.html

Working-class districts in Bogota have been the subject of three community experiments with access to new information and communication technologies (ICT). These projects involve the Neighborhood Information Units (UIBs), which represent yet another form of what is known generically as telecenters. These are places where the public can gain access to information and communication technologies: they can function as experiments in rural and urban telephone service, community radio, documentation centers and public libraries, among others.

The most critical problems in the first years of existence have been:

• Resistance and prejudices of a cultural nature against the use of new equipment and new technologies.
• Under-utilization of units by individuals and organizations in the community.
• Technical problems related to the poor quality of telephone lines and constant interruptions in electric power and congestion in the Internet server
• A lack of articulation between the project units and the general activities of the grassroots organizations
• Budget resources were inadequate to provide an attractive salary to unit coordinators.
• Lack of mechanisms and strategies and inadequate effort to promote and publicize the units.