UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER
CARINET

CARINET

Date: Tue, 24 Aug 93 23:29:14 -0400 From: Francisco Dominguez Subject: CARINET re: network connection in St. Lucia (Caribbean & Lat. Am.)

I found the following information in The Matrix: Computer Networks and Conferencing Systems Worldwide by John S Quarterman (1990) Digital Press, One Burlington Woods Drive, Burlington, MA 01803 (ISBN:1-55558- 033-5).

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CARINET is intended for general network communications by business and development organizations in and among Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and North America--i.e., most of the world-- concentrating on the less industrially developed regions, with users in 32 countries. There is particular emphasis on Latin America, and conferences are carried out in both Spanish and English. CARINET first begin in 1982 as a conference on EIES.

CARINET is based on EIES and is accessed primarily by X.25 through the international PDNs; thus most users connect at 1200bps. There is a DASnet connection. CARINET has about 250 users, for a total of 500 in combination with its partner system CGNET [Janus 1988; CARINET 1988]. But the people who make use of it are more numerous than its direct users: local government or nongovernmental agencies may interact with farmers, potters, or others who would not use a keyboard themselves, and relay questions and comments through CARINET [Hesser 1987].

All funding for CARINET is from fees charged to users [Janus 1988]. CARINET is owned by a consortium whose members included (at the time of writing) the Rodale Institute (Rodale), The Daedalus Group, Inc. (Daedalus), Agricultural Cooperative Development International (ACDI), Devres, Inc. (Devres), and Partnership for Productivity (PFP). Many of them provide specialized services through CARINET.

In addition to CMC (both interactive and batch), CARINET provides a document ordering service called Carinet Information Service (CIS) that provides access for Third World users to U.S. libraries and databases. Technology transfer and cutting of communication and travel expenses are major goals. One of the primary uses of the system is the pooling of the users' expertise in diverse areas such as health, education, agriculture, and small businesses. Some conferences are used for online courses on these subjects.

Not all CARINET services are informational only; for example, the USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) uses CARINET in coordinating disaster assistance. Also, system staff provide personal user training both in person and over telephones. They will even assist in obtaining and installing terminals, modems, and communication software, as well as in obtainig appropriate telephone service.

CARINET was created by Jerry Glenn and PFP [Hesser 1987], which is a nonprofit corporation specializing in Third World economic development, in response to an approach to networking by Control Data Corporation (CDC) that PFP found unsatisfactory. PFP sold CARINET in 1987, when CARINET became an independent for-profit corporation.

The main emphasis of the system has always been on actual uses in development--i.e., use by people and organizations already involved in Third World development. The hope is to accelerate development by connecting the people involved in it throughout the world and to provide a means of technology transfer (including the technology of networking) for their use. CARINET has been rather succesful in doing this, and growth is currently about 40 percent per year [Janus 1988].

Access

531@DDEIES.DAS.NET +1-202-638-4661 Telex: 160923 Fax: +1-202-628-1813

Noreene Z. Janus Janus@DDE1NJ.DAS.NET Carinet: 370 CGNET: CGI104 +1-202-626-8720

CARINET, Inc. 50 F Street NW, Suite 900 Washington, DC 20001 U.S.A.

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Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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