Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico - Thanks to the forty high-capacity data networks deployed by the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation, the quality and capacity of broadband telecommunication services have been increased at local universities, research centers, hospitals, and government offices for the benefit of the general population.

The improvements will be reflected by more productive activities by scientific, educational and research institutions in the northern coastal areas of Jalisco, specifically Puerto Vallarta, where ten sites will be connected to the National Broadband Network (NIBA).

The objective of the National Broadband Network project is to increase the quality of national Telecommunications in forty cities, according to Sr. José Alberto Sánchez Vázquez, Deputy Director of Telecommunications of the Ministry of Communications and Transportation in Jalisco.

Installation started last February, when the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation in conjunction with Iusacell SA de CV, Telmex S.A.B. de C.V, and Operbes SA de CV, diagnosed each of the connection points to ensure that all of the pre-installation requirements for interconnecting had been met. But it wasn't until a few days ago, when El Centro Universitario de la Costa (CUCosta) announced that they had everything ready to connect to the network, that the first of the ten points in this coastal area was connected.

Being the first to utilize this free service makes CUCosta the pioneer of all University of Guadalajara campuses and regional centers. In this regard, the CUCosta Coordinator of Learning Technologies, Maestro Eduardo Olivares Rodríguez, reported that 1139 sites across the country will eventually benefit from this service. He said that the CUCosta is already enjoying 100 megas of high speed internet, and the speed can be increased as demand rises, allowing the university to make more video conferencing and VOIP calls, while cutting costs on the existing contracts they have with various telecommunications companies.

It should be noted that this project was made possible by the infrastructure provided by the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) with more than 25,000 kilometers of optical fiber across the country, which they seek to expand in the medium term to 35,000 kilometers, opening the possibility to interconnect medium-sized cities such as Lagos de Moreno, Ciudad Guzman, Autlán and others that have universities, hospitals, technology and research centers, to trigger development through the use of information and communication technology.