El Salvador connects 281 schools with TV white space

Within the framework of its digital agenda, El Salvador has connected 281 schools with television white space technology (TVWS), confirmed innovation undersecretary in the presidency’s office, Fabrizio Mena, in a webinar organized by the Central American Integration System (SICA).

The connected schools are in coastal areas of the country.

In the coverage area of the installed antennas there are about 1,000 schools. Mena said the government is "looking for resources" to purchase receivers to connect all the schools.

El Salvador's national connectivity network plans to use different technologies, including TVWS, to connect the whole country.

One of the projects involves using the infrastructure of the electricity company to run fiber optics over high voltage lines. The project is advanced and there is already fiber until the 14 principal population centers, the official said in response to a BNamericas question.

The next step is the last mile to connect the institutions of the State. The goal is to connect 100% of schools, police stations and hospitals with fiber optics, mobile networks or TVWS.

At the same time, the regulator began freeing up the 700MHz band to expand 4G coverage. Mena also said a pilot project for 5G connectivity via satellite is planned but did not provide further details.

TVWS has also been used in pilot tests in Colombia, while Peru recently modified its national frequency plan to enable the technology.