In Guatemala, we see that the primary stimulus for internet growth is education. This is often the case in the initial development of IT.

History

Mayanet (1) (the first internet in Guatemala)
FONACYT, the national science and technology fund, was formed in November 1992, the Comisión de Informática drafted project Mayanet--the first major Internet presence in Guatemala. Mayanet's goal is to connect Guatemalan institutions of higher education with the original Mayanet network in Costa Rica, ultimately creating a comprehensive network structure throughout Central America. After striking a deal with GUATEL, the
Guatemalan sector of Mayanet officially connected to Costa Rican Mayanet on December 6, 1995.

ISPs
Internet Service Providers in Guatemala (2002): Cybernet (first ISP in Guatemala in November,1995), GBM (website inactive), Infovia, Itinet/Prodata/Guatemala, Online Tecnisoft, TikalNet

Pricing: (2)
(Tecnisoft): Unlimited plan $40 Limited 15 hours $15.
ISDN, T1, T3, Satellite and DSL connections are available, though due to the relatively high prices, are available only through special order.

Users(3)

In 1995 there were an estimated 300 internet users in Guatemala. In 1996 this number had grown to 5,000 internet users and 112 web servers.
This had grown to 65,000 in 2000, and estimate as high as 200,000 as of December 2001.

Internet Penetration: (3)
Current estimates show that Guatemala has a 1.5% internet penetration rate, meaning that only 1.5% of the population has access to the internet. Compare this against a 9.0% rate in Mexico.

Cyber Café
There are a number of Cybercafes in most larger cities. These are very popular spots with tourists, and offer basic internet access, word processing services, and faxing.

Obstacles
High illiteracy rate.
Unequal distribution of wealth. (One proposed solution is in providing “Free” internet.)
Unequal distribution of infrastructure.
Lack of infrastructure.
Technology (one solution to the lack of land lines is new technologies allowing for wireless connections)