The calls for tenders for rural broadband access will likely be published this week by the Ministry of Transport, giving some insight as to where funds (including EU money) and solutions will be first deployed.
This has been a hotly debated topic, with the e-government minister Ina Gudele and the Latvian Internet Association opposed to the MoT's plans to build new basic infrastructure. Gudele favors helping households and small businesses in Latvia's poorest and remote regions get last-mile access to the existing internet infrastructure (mainly Lattelecom's DSL network).
The MoT and its Communications Department favor funding additional infrastructure (i.e. new backbone lines) sometimes to compete with existing ones, so that competition will bring down prices and make the last mile connections cheaper and more accessible.
The tenders will start with the poorest regions first and may attract interest from some WiMax-type providers, possibly Latvenergo or Latvian Railways, which both have backbone infrastructure that could be extended out into the countryside by one means or another.
P.S. Sorry for the rant about Moneybookers. I finally used PayPal to buy my Skype credit. It is best to avoid these electronic fund fumblers if possible and keep their number to a minimum if they must be used.
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