Latin America. For the deployment of projects and solutions aimed at tele-education, it is necessary that the educational sectors and the ICT industry collaborate through inclusive strategies. For this, government policies focused on enabling the deployment and growth of wireless broadband services is crucial.
This was stated by José Otero, Director of 5G Americas for Latin America and the Caribbean in the framework of the International Forum "Building a digital Peru towards the Bicentennial", organized by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, MTC.
The event was held in Lima, Peru and Otero was the speaker of the theme "Teleeducation Cases – Latin America and the Caribbean" within the forum. This topic addressed aspects of tele-education projects deployed in Latin America, from best government practices to the role of technologies such as LTE and information and communication technologies (ICT) in specific cases of projects in the education sector.
During his participation, Otero stressed that tele education is a case that 5G Americas has followed as it is a technological application to social development objectives. The follow-up to these initiatives in Latin America has allowed us to conclude that in the region a joint work between the public and private sectors is commonly applied, but the creation of coordination with the ICT sector is detected as an area of opportunity in order to implement improvements in the projects and in the educational quality as such.
The exhibition highlighted that e-Education appears as one of the main topics on digital agendas in the region according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The delivery of devices such as computers or tablets generally accompanies these policies, but among the areas of opportunity are the training of teachers in the use of ICT as educational resources and connectivity in schools.
Given this, the forum outlined as important policies for tele-education the reduction of barriers to the deployment of network facilities, elimination of tax burdens on equipment and the deployment of complementary social development services (such as health) that comprehensively improve the quality of life of the inhabitants.
Thus, technologies such as LTE can complement a more diverse environment of mobile terminals that can be established as equipment for schools. The case of the Puelmapu school (Chile) that Otero presented in his presentation is a case in which a strategic resource such as the 700 MHz band was used as an element to allow wireless connectivity and take advantage of equipment that allows mobility. This project is complemented by multimedia content focused on streamlining teaching and benefiting both students and teachers.
LTE as a mobile broadband technology represents the foundation of the next generation of mobile technologies (5G) and presents an opportunity to increase the reach and quality of tele education projects. With advantages such as higher speeds and lower latencies, these wireless networks will allow the integration of better multimedia content (with formats such as video), as well as the ability to link more students with teaching staff through audiovisual communications in real time.
