Technology

Led by a dynamic private sector, the Internet has gotten off to a relatively good start in Haiti. Its development over the past five years contrasts with the continuing deterioration of the wireline infrastructure of the state-owned monopoly, Teleco.
Two Haitian firms, ACN and Netcom, have installed their own satellite gateways and used spread spectrum radio-communications technology to transmit the Internet to servers, thus bypassing the Teleco system. This Internet access appears adequate for those businesses, institutions and other entities, which have a number of computers to be served and which can afford the $7000-installation charge. ACN and Netcom also provide dial-up access to other customers as well as Internet access for two other ISPs, Globelsud and Companet. A fifth ISP, Hintelfocus, uses the MCI gateway to connect to the Internet. It is estimated that there are 3000 users of the Internet in Haiti.

Nevertheless, wireless bypass of Teleco can only go so far. The ISPs concur that the main obstacle to further development of the Internet is the lack of reliable telephone lines to provide dial-up access. Faced with the disincentive of below-cost tariffing for domestic service and perhaps in anticipation of the privatization scheduled for late 1999, this state-owned monopoly has neglected not only the expansion of its infrastructure but also its maintenance. Only 35,000-to-40,000 of its 60,000 lines is in operation at any time. Moreover in a desperate attempt to protect its plummeting earnings from international calls, Teleco has cut lines to at least one ISP for providing international voice service over the Internet, thus bypassing the phone gateway of Teleco (and its high international tariffs).