Connectivity Providers Database

From: LANFRAN@VM1.YorkU.CA (Sam Lanfranco) Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1992 12:04:49 GMT John Otto asked about e-mail links to Jamaica. I am replying to him and to the list for general information. I was in Jamaica two weeks ago and meet briefly with Keith Manison, Planning Officer, Computerization, at the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies. The current status of the computer link is as follows. UWI (Mona) is working with Puerto Rico as part of the CUNet initiative which is designed to network academic and research institutions across the Caribbean. The Puerto Rico/Jamaica link currently consists of Manison calling the CUNet system in Puerto Rico once/twice a day to upload/download e-mail. Manison's address is: manison@uwimona.edu.jm He then has to manually deliver mail to anyone else on campus. There are additional commercial datalinks to the Island itself and on occasion there are point-to-point links as this or that project gets individual funding to try something for a while. However, the UWI link to the CUNet initiative is the major link being developed. There are sporatic links between UWI Mona and the rest of the English speaking islands from Jamaica in the north to Trinidad in the south. They are tied to UWIDITE (the UWI Distance Teaching Experiment) which is designed to bring distance education to the non-campus islands (those other than Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados). They use an audio-bridge for teleconferencing and a graphics pad linked to monitors. They are working on e-mail links but it is in the test stage. The Mona Campus of UWI is in the process of networking the campus at the moment and is laying optical fibre. It will install a Convex super-computer and put in a lan based Wide Area Information System for the Campus. The UWI initiative does NOT extend to the University of Guyana since at the creation of the UWI system across the Caribbean, Guyana decided not to join. This was a political move under the Burnham government. I am working with people in Guyana to build an access to the networks. It will not be easy. For example, the phone system at the university broke down two years ago and as of today there is one (1) functioning phone on the campus, that being in the central administrative office. When I say one phone I mean one line into and out of the campus and no phone connections between buildings and offices on campus. Sam Lanfranco ..................................................................... : Prof. Sam Lanfranco | Coord., Distributed Knowledge Project at : : YCHS - 214 York Lanes | Centre for Health Studies & Centre for : : York University | Research on Latin America & the Caribbean : : North York, Ontario |...........................................: : CANADA M3J 1P3 | Bitnet: lanfran at yorkvm1.bitnet : :.......................| InterNet: lanfran at vm1.yorku.ca : : Phone: (416) 736-5237 | PNet/WEB: lanfranco at web.igc.org : : FAX: (416) 736-5737 | UUCP: bitnet!yorkvm1!lanfran : :.......................|...........................................: