The ACC (Córdoba Connectivity Agency) has developed the Connectivity Plan to ensure Internet access throughout the province. The program is based on the deploying infrastructure and aims for the province to be in tune with the guidelines of global Internet governance. 

The challenge is fundamental if the importance of Córdoba in the national context is considered due to its socio-economic and cultural contribution. The provincial territory has an area of ??165,321 km2 and a population of 3.7 million people, of which 30.5% lack access to broadband connectivity.

People from Cordoba live in 427 municipalities and communes, above the national average, which is 91 localities per province. This fragmentation is considered the basis of all the inequalities in the province, including the one that expresses the digital divide. To solve these problems, the Córdoba Connectivity Plan, approved in 2018 by Law 10,564, establishes to deploy infrastructure as objectives; training the population in digital skills; the application of these capacities in economic and social development; and lastly the active participation of the province in international Internet forums.

By December the startup 96 nodes will be completed, 24 of which are already operational, said the president of the ACC, Juan Ferreiro. The network has 5,000 kilometers of fiber optics, which was tendered in October 2020. The next step is to startup 224 more nodes in as many municipalities. While progressing with these objectives, the ACC studies alternatives for the remaining 107 to complete the Cordoba map.

The province has 2,390 kilometers of fiber optics laid along a provincial gas pipeline. In a complementary manner, there is an agreement with the concessionaire of the electric power service EPEC, a provincial company, which will make a network of 1,500 kilometers of fiber optics available.

Ferreiro explained that of the 96 nodes that are expected to startup at the end of the year, one is located in the city of Córdoba and another 95 in municipalities and communes in the interior of the province. This is part of the work that required investments of US$ 6 million.

“With the gas pipeline and with the laying of the energy company, we are going to reach approximately 230 nodes and to cover the remainder we are thinking of strategies that may range from complementing technologies to facilitating possible infrastructure exchanges with the networks of private companies and cooperatives that offer service in the province,” said the president of the entity.

The projection is that in 2022 investments will be made to reach 230 nodes. Regarding the plus to cover the 427 municipalities and communes, before defining the necessary investment, articulations that can serve to reduce costs are being studied. The ACC head did not risk numbers, but affirmed that investments are made with the province's own resources.

To guarantee access, the ACC will act in the wholesale market, but it also proposes as strategies the provision of free services in spaces for citizen connection, such as hospitals, museums, public departments and others. It will also provide connectivity in open spaces such as squares and parks, in the city and in the interior.

Sequence. The leadership of the ACC places strong emphasis on the holistic nature of its objectives. Following infrastructure and Internet access is the goal of developing the population's digital skills.

One of the programs in progress is the Digital ABC, defined as a set of "theoretical-practical training instances to develop digital skills" that are taught at the Córdoba Campus with official certification and with the collaboration of 20 organizations that teach the courses.

The Connectors program for the formation of territorial references in the use of ICTs "to transmit digital literacy knowledge in each locality" is also highlighted. In this plan, the Faro Digital organization operates as a training partner. The goal “is to add 150 connectors. Each connector will reach 50 more people, which translates into 7,500 people with connectivity knowledge,” the ACC explained. A third initiative is called "A un click" and proposes learning content to acquire tools and develop digital skills. It consists of short videos and infographics, among others.

From the perspective of the plan the objectives are parts of a sequence. "Connectivity is to develop the network and access is to put it into operation so that it is a wholesale option for the State," Ferreiro told Convergencialatina. The next step is to train people as a prelude to the third axis: the promotion of skills learned to turn it into development policies of the provincial economy and of the communities”. The fourth objective is the articulation with the global Internet community, which involves “linking the ACC with international governance entities to be updated in relation to the discussions on the first three axes.”