"Our goal is to enable the economy to be competitive nationally and internationally with the use of information technology," said Jesus Gaxiola, IT Director of ITSON. "Because we are fostering digital inclusion among the 270,992 inhabitants, a citizen-centered model was employed in designing the project with the individual as the core user of IT based services from the government, education, health and private sector."
ITSON has a commitment to develop those regions where it has a presence. The university is investing in two technology parks in Obregon (one is a university-owned agribusiness park and the other is a software park that is a partnership with state and local governments) and in the city's wireless network. The network will cover the technology parks and most of Obregon to help improve the local economy and create an attractive outsourcing opportunity for international technology companies.
ITSON will own and operate the network with the City of Obregon and the local water company as anchor tenants. The local city government is providing the labor to install and maintain the equipment and will pay for the city's use of the network and services. ITSON also plans to charge a monthly access fee for use of the network to branches of businesses operating in Obregon. Access for the local residents will be free.
In the first phase currently underway, the network is being deployed to support simultaneous services, applications and content offered from the city's "Obregon Digital" portal accessible via laptops, PDAs and smart phones. Because the majority of the population does not have access to Wi-Fi enabled devices, kiosks equipped with laptops are being set up in university, government and community centers to ensure universal access.
Students, faculty and staff members of ITSON already have access to the network to most of the university applications such as learning platforms, student and employee services, the digital library, knowledge databases and collaboration suites. Elementary schools will also be tied into the network for computer curriculum classes.
In addition, the network will be used for public safety. Eight to ten police cars are being equipped with laptops so that the police will have access from the field to online data services, such as automobile registry data, driver licenses, criminal databases, etc. A video surveillance system will also operate in specific areas of Obregon.
The city's Water Department will replace the current communication infrastructure system for the department's branches. In addition, an automated water meter reading pilot is being implemented to evaluate telemetry for industrial, commercial and residential consumption. The project is expected to improve the accuracy of consumption data while also increasing efficiencies and reducing costs.
