September 29, 2017
VILLA TALEA DE CASTRO, Mexico (AFP) - Left out by telecom firms like the one owned by billionaire Carlos Slim, a remote Mexican mountain village now runs its own mobile phone network to communicate with the outside world.
Tucked away in a lush forest in the southern state of Oaxaca, the indigenous village of Villa Talea de Castro, population 2,500, was not seen as a profitable market for companies such as Slim's America Movil.
So the village, under an initiative launched by indigenous groups, civil organizations and universities, put up a perch-like antenna on a rooftop, installed radio and computer equipment, and created its own micro provider called Red Celular de Talea (RCT) this year.
Now, restaurant manager Ramiro Perez can call his children and receive food orders on his cellphone at a cheap price in this village dotted by small homes painted in pink and yellow.
The local service costs 15 pesos ($1.2) per month -- 13 times cheaper than a big firm's basic plan in Mexico City -- while calls to the United States, where many of the indigenous Zapoteco resident have migrated, charge a few pennies per minute.
''I have two children who live outside the village and I communicate with them at least two or three times per week,'' Perez, 60, told AFP.
Before, Perez had to use telephone booths where he paid up to 10 pesos ($0.75) per minute.
The coffee-producing village installed the network with the help of Rhizomatica, a non-profit with US, European and Mexican experts who aim to increase access to mobile telecommunications in communities that lack affordable service.
In a statement, Rhizomatica, a civil group named Redes and a town official said they hoped that a telecom reform pushed through Congress by President Enrique Pena Nieto to open the market will ''break the obstacles'' that prevent the development of such community-based projects.
''Many indigenous communities have shown interest in participating in this project and we hope that many more can join this scheme,'' the statement said.
