Throughout its history, the University of Chile (UChile) has played a key role in the development of local know-how, specially in the area of information and communication technologies (ICT). In fact, a strong ICT collaboration effort with Japan has long been in place through the AccessNova Program, established in 1994 in in cooperation with the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT). Under the terms of the AccessNova Program, UChile’s School of Engineering and Science and NTT Laboratories have jointly carried out testing and performed milestone experiments on high-speed network and broadband applications, including the first multimedia videoconference between Chile and Japan during the official visit to Japan of former President Eduardo Frei for the celebration of the centennial of bilateral relations in 1997.

Through AccessNova, NTT has supported UChile in the introduction and development of multimedia applications in Chile for high-speed communication platforms. These applications use relatively high bandwidths of about 100 Mbps and require short delay times for smooth interactive operations. To satisfy these requirements AccessNova regularly uses NTT’s experimental network GEMnet2 in collaboration with other partner research and education networks in North and South America. In addition to the expertise in high-speed network technology provided by NTT, the program has steadily expanded to include other research organizations and universities in Japan, such as NAOJ (National Astronomy Observatory of Japan), the University of Tokyo (Center for Collaborative Research), Waseda University (Global Information and Telecommunications Institute), among others.

The global high speed multimedia experiments that Chilean and Japanese researchers are jointly performing constitute an authentic proof of the full potential of global broadband networks allowing remote collaborative work on a planetary scale. Recent trials have demonstrated the feasibility of operating sophisticated instruments in Chile from Japan, such as an optical telescope and rock hammers in an underground copper mine, opening new ways for future remote astronomy and remote mining on a global scale.