INTEC and INDOTEL present a new observatory to monitor and promote the development of ICT
SANTO DOMINGO. -The launch of the National Observatory of Information and Communication Technologies (ONTIC) constitutes “a powerful and reliable lighthouse”Which will facilitate the handling of millions of terabytes of datas that the Dominicans produce every day and that is expected to grow exponentially with the arrival of the 5G network to the country, he said Nelson José Guillén Bello, president of the Dominican Institute of Telecommunications (Indotel).
“With the ONTIC, the Dominican Republic will finally have a constant and secure source of information on new technologies,” said Guillén, who made the statement when giving the central speech on the launch of ONTIC, which will be operated jointly with the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC).
The official explained that with ONTIC the country will have specialized analyzes and focused on the telecommunications sector: A digital map of the national territory, which will give information on the development of broadband, fixed telephone operation lines, the number of fixed and mobile internet access accounts, the advance of fiber optic or the number of accounts with satellite internet access in each region.
"How many people use the Internet exactly?, how old are they, where do they live, what is their educational level and how much they pay for their services; We will know all this and that knowledge will help us ensure that the Internet reaches everyone and end the digital divide”, Said Guillen.
In this regard, Rolando M. Guzmán, rector of INTEC, said the observatory emerged as need response to have an instrument dedicated to the systematic provision of information around diffusion, use e ICT impact by different segments, both of households and companies.
Guzmán stressed that ONTIC was born with the objectives of provide information on ICT supply and demand, intensity and form of use, user satisfaction, impact on productive activities, and impact on people's quality of life and sustainable development goals.
“A second objective is the use of this information to carry out studies that deepen knowledge about the dynamics of ICT in our country and establish comparability with international experiences, and finally, it proposes to serve as a space for dialogue between the actors of the sector, in the search for consensus necessary for the formulation of better public policies and private strategies ”, pondered the rector of INTEC.
Guzmán said that the Overview of ICT in the DR, an interactive platform with more than 100 indicators that provide a view of the state of the sector, integrating information provided by several of the member institutions of the Council.
“This information is reflected in two maps: one of Digital Inclusion, which describes the levels of access to ICTs in the different municipalities of the country, and another of Use of ICTs, which describes the state of use of these technologies in the different regions, ”said Guzman.
The presentation of the Observatory was in charge of Pedro Terrazas, general coordinator of the Strategic Planning of the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) of Mexico.
The activity that was carried out at the Indotel Espacio Digital Republic Center, in the Colonial Zone, was attended by the Minister of Youth, Robiamny Balcácer; the members of the ONTIC Interinstitutional Advisory Council, Vice Minister of the Presidency, Zoraima Neck; Rogelio Viesca, president of Claro, Ana Figueiredo, president of Altice, Melvin Hilario, in charge of the Observatory of Technologies of the Presidential Office of Information and Communication Technologies (OPTIC).
In addition, he counted the presence of Damián Báez, general manager of Wind Telecom; María Waleska Álvarez, president of the ICT Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAMRD) and Hector Danilo Duarte, technical manager of OPTIC.