LAN house implementation and sustainability in Brazil: An actor-network theory perspective

Abstract

LAN Houses have featured as key locations for thousands of Brazilians who otherwise have no access to the Internet. Thus, the scope of this study is to investigate the implementation and sustainability trajectory of a LAN House from an Actor-Network Theory perspective. In order to achieve this, single case study methodology was adopted to address the implementation and sustainability of a LAN House in Jardim Catarina, city of São Gonçalo in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The result of this investigation supports the importance of government programs and actions as key actors to implement and sustain these endeavors. Lastly, it becomes clear that a LAN House is not actually a digital inclusion agent, despite its relevance to regions with lower rates of income, since the owner performs the role of "digital broker," whereby most of LAN House users are denied full digital inclusion. © 2014 IFIP International Federation for Information Processing.