Robinson S.S. (1999) On Estimating Telecentre Demand in Mexican Rural Municipios, 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/26_OnE.html

The challenge of creating a set of self-sustaining telecentres in five contiguous rural municipios in Mexico necessarily involves a model for estimating demand for this model of ICT delivery. Given the socio-cultural and political conditions in these small towns and villages a series of issues come to the fore: how do we conceive demand for a service few are even aware of? How does the technology fit or conflict with traditional cultural norms and preferences? Who belong to the different local factions with potential interest in the service? What are the different political dimensions of this problem? What are the ethical responsibilities of the distinct actors involved? These are some of the questions addressed synthetically in this short paper.