Questions/Answers

In the municipality of Coatzacoalcos, more than 22 thousand citizens lack access to the Internet, before 2018 it was translated as digital exclusion and fewer opportunities for many. In the ejidos and congregations of the municipality, there are more than 8,000 inhabitants, and as incredible as it may seem, before 2018, there was no communication or telephone or internet, for this the citizens had to walk long distances to reach areas where had signal (between 5 to 20 kilometers), even going up in the high hills of the area, to be able to communicate, the isolation of these areas of the municipality affects their development, but mainly their quality of life. In the city, there were no free sites to access the internet, much less community services to access a device to surf the internet, nor guidance, information, workshops or courses for the responsible use of the internet. The digital inclusion project implements, builds and deploys information and communication technologies, civil works, training, software, among other aspects, to provide internet access to citizens, we put technology at the service of citizens, contributing directly to the reducing the digital divide, and bringing internet services closer to those with the least possibilities. Components of the project. • Community internet service with its own infrastructure in ejidos and congregations. • Implementation of 6 digital internet access centers. • Installation of free internet service in squares, parks and public places. • Training courses on digital inclusion, and the tools that the internet offers you in daily life. • Implementation of the mobile app "Coatzabierto", with digital government services. The project works on the attention and development of the following sustainable development objectives: 4.- QUALITY EDUCATION 5.- GENDER EQUALITY 8.- DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH 9.- INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE 16.- PEACE, JUSTICE AND SOLID INSTITUTIONS

The initiative is planned and developed so that through the deployment of the city's own infrastructure and resources, access to information and communications technology is significantly increased, mainly in areas lacking internet service, we can provide this service free of charge, to citizens, who previously did not have access, including access to computer equipment, training and government digital services. Directly today we offer inclusive and equitable services for all, and more for those who have the least.

• The project develops goal 9.c, by serving citizens who present digital exclusion, we concentrate efforts on providing the city with its own robust infrastructure, which serves a population without internet coverage, mainly in ejidos and congregations, parks and public sites, implementing 6 digital centers for internet access and education and citizen services (CDAIE). • We attend to goal 4.a, having implemented 6 CDAIEs, from here training courses oriented to gender violence, the city's MOBILE APP and the Alert Woman mobile app are given. • Goal 5.b, is addressed with the implementation of the 6 CDAIE, free internet service, in squares, parks and public places and the free community internet service in ejidos and congregations, with its own infrastructure. • Goal 16.7 is developed by applying open government for the design of the project, developing citizen exercises for the formation of the sector plan, to know the feeling about requirements, needs, about Internet access, important was the participation of the agents municipalities of the congregations and ejidos. • In goal 16.10, through open government - accountability and transparency, we comply by providing Internet access to citizens who wish to monitor and be vigilant in the use of public resources.

The initiative provides citizens with services, which today are a necessity on a day-to-day basis, without a doubt the initiative is sustainable, socially, by raising the standard of living of citizens, economically, with adequate training, it can become a tool to generate savings and family economy, in the environment, we work to incorporate clean energy in the communication towers, we currently have 4 sites with solar power. Today only when there is a failure in the service, it is the citizens themselves, who manage their immediate repair, for their usefulness. The initiative can be replicable, for what it contributes.

The digital inclusion project, from the day it was put into operation, has exceeded what was planned, the citizenship that benefits from the services provided by digital inclusion. It is indescribable, seeing how people improve their quality of life, save resources, develop their activities more easily and more in this pandemic, where the internet has taken a central place in the world economy, like never before. It is gratifying to listen to young people, teachers, parents, thanking the benefits that the initiative provides, today it undoubtedly contributes to citizen empowerment, brings distances closer, reduces the digital divide, and puts citizens on the map, who were previously excluded . A large sector of the population does not have the means to access high-speed internet, the program also provides equipment and training. The planned monthly consumption data has been exceeded by 1000%, we knew that the need existed, but we never expected it to be so great. The citizenship has not only adopted the initiative, which by itself has achieved its roots, but also the citizenship, already looking for the initiative to expand and have growth.

The digital inclusion program, being planned with the aim of putting technology at the service of citizens who have the least, addresses both gender inequality and the citizens that present digital exclusion, however in Mexico, inclusion programs digital, raised in a comprehensive way, are not yet common initiatives to see, perhaps due to the great deficiencies that exist in cities today. By providing a robust state-of-the-art infrastructure, and putting it at the service of the citizen, we managed to significantly reduce the digital divide, such as gender inequality.

We have commented on it, and it is one of the parts that fills us most with satisfaction, seeing young people, teachers, children, parents, not only thanking the investment that the municipal government has developed with its own efforts and resources, but also that in addition to this, they have adopted the project, and are attentive to its evolution and growth. Going to a digital center for internet access and education, and seeing young people, children and adults, using state-of-the-art computer equipment, and browsing with speeds of 100 and 200 megabytes, is an indescribable satisfaction, knowing that the government resources are raising the standard of living of citizens. The groups in society that benefit most from the digital inclusion program are citizens, who previously did not have access to the Internet, low-income students, teachers, parents, who today have new ways of being included in the digital world . It should be remembered that more than 8000 people just 2 years ago, were isolated, today that group of citizens, more than in the city, use the services of public places and the 6 digital internet access centers, they are the main beneficiaries.

We carried out strategic planning, to develop the digital inclusion program, we did not want it to only be about providing the internet to parks and public places, but to do it in a comprehensive way, that is why the first part of the planning was to investigate how to create a comprehensive program, which was modular, so we got to its components (internet in ejidos, digital centers, internet in parks and public places, comprehensive training and the city's mobile app). The key steps of the project were undoubtedly the studies for the installation of the own infrastructure, to do it well, it was to save many resources, the other key step was to investigate and test the communication technologies that we were going to use and the last one, to define the stages to do more with less, but follow through on what was planned. Regarding monitoring, it was to follow what was planned, meet times and budgets, but at the same time give results so that the next stages were authorized. The chronology, we started planning in 2018, starting with studies, meetings with society, generation of diagnoses, ICT tests, definition of budgets, construction of infrastructure, civil works of digital centers, installation of the first parks, until To continue developing the planning, we are currently in the 4th stage that consists of the installation of the antenna of the ejido la Esperanza with 800 inhabitants, and the installation of the 6th digital internet access center. As we monitor the project, we have a monitoring table from our central data center, where we validate that all internet access nodes are operating, likewise when one of them fails, citizens have the communication channels to report failures.

The project had obstacles, but without a doubt the most important, was the delay in the management of resources, the project was already generating the first results, but areas within the municipal government did not see the project as a priority, it was until we started operations, When not only this obstacle was solved, but the project happened to make a strategic and priority project, due to the results it provides immediately. Another obstacle was the Covid 19 pandemic, which, like everyone else in the world, delayed budgets, implementations, but mainly, prevents people from making greater use of the internet service.

The initiative is innovative, for today being one of the only digital inclusion projects, approached in a comprehensive way, that is, we not only build our own infrastructure, but also create not 1, if not 6 digital internet access centers, plus the parks, the mobile app and the workshops and courses, make the initiative innovative. On the other hand, the technology used in the infrastructure to provide the ejidos and congregations with internet service, last generation links of 500 and 1000 megabytes were used, as well as state-of-the-art computer equipment.

Today the initiative has 3 national recognitions, which have started to generate collaborations, visits, as well as participation in panels, to present the scope of the project, this motivates us to rethink the project, and add a robustness to the component of training, in addition to strengthening the metropolitan communication network.

In this sense, we have incorporated frontier technology, as are undoubtedly the communication links between the central node and the ejidos, by installing next-generation links with speeds of 500 and 1000 megabytes, also in the city's mobile app, We incorporate the internet of things, by equipping garbage trucks with GPS, so that citizens can follow up and know when the route will pass through their home.

No, we have not yet transferred the initiative, but we are ready so that the municipalities that require support for this, can approach us for it. Currently we have scheduled for the month of December the visit of 2 Veracruz municipalities, which will come to know the project, and see its feasibility.

Literally all governments in the world will have to implement a digital inclusion project, if they want to meet the goals of the 20/30 agenda for sustainable development, in this context, we believe that the DIGITAL INCLUSION project - COATZABIERTO, TRANSFORMATION AND DIGITAL SERVICES ORIENTED TO THE CITIZEN, can become a good reference, having several components, which together are generating digital inclusion in cities. Only in our planning stage, we only find internet hotspot initiatives, and training, in the near future, we will find increasingly robust digital inclusion projects, we will continue working for it.

o Parks: $ 2.2 million pesos o Digital centers: $ 5.4 million pesos o Ejidos and Congregations: $ 3.2 million o Training: 300 thousand pesos o MOBILE APP: 400 thousand pesos Total project investment: 11.5 million pesos (548 thousand USD) The project operates with 10 people.

The costs of the maintenance and operation of the project are relatively low compared to the social, economic and educational contribution that it generates in society. The main costs are the contracted internet services and the annual maintenance of the infrastructure. This initiative will be sustainable over time, for two main reasons: 1.- The importance of digital inclusion in current times. 2.- The demand of the public, so that these types of projects not only exist, but also expand in coverage and speeds.

Non

In Mexico, there is an internet program for everyone, which the federal government promotes, however, from the municipal governments we see that its deployment will not have an impact as it is not a comprehensive project, we believe after our experience, that the government Federal, should deploy the internet program for everyone, from the municipalities, in Mexico, we must lay the foundations for the construction of a sustainable smart city, we are convinced that digital inclusion and the information society is not achieved, only giving internet service to citizens, it must be accompanied at all times.

In the planning stage, we applied open government for the design of the Digital Inclusion project, developing citizen exercises that helped us to shape the ICT sector plan and the government program, as well as to know the feelings of the citizens about The information requirements, needs, services, improvements, comments, suggestions, about the need for communication, Internet access, training, of vital help was the participation of municipal agents and sub-agents of the congregations and ejidos, among other actors of the society. The citizen exercises that we carried out were: 1. Development of a citizen survey about the Digital Inclusion project. 2. Development of forums for citizen participation, on a thematic agenda, where the objectives of the project were presented, to seek feedback and suggestions to strengthen its components and services that would be developed. 3. Regional meetings with 1500 block managers, their feedback was requested to evaluate the results and listen to their suggestions and proposals. 4. Implementation of the citizen's digital mailbox, to receive proposals for improvement or incorporation of new digital services. 5.- Permanently through our portal www.coatzacoalcos.gob.mx, surveys are carried out to know the opinion, suggestions and recommendation of the citizens.

Regarding the lessons learned, we could say that it is a constant learning process, when innovating and building a project, to solve a lack of the government before the citizens, we can mention the following learnings: • Planning is 80% of the project's success • Present the scope of the project to society and involve it • If you fail, try again, but if you planned well, that won't happen. • Use state-of-the-art, but robust and quality equipment and technologies • Work on the basis of open government, citizen participation and collaboration • You just can't, you must do it in the company of citizens • Tie the budgets, of the first 3 stages • Generate a detailed action schedule • Build a strong team and assign responsibilities • Investigate leading initiatives