PARINTINS, THE "DIGITAL ISLAND" IN CALHA DO RIO AMAZON: AN ANALYSIS OF SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE COMMUNICATION INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CHANNEL SOLIMÕES-AMAZONAS1 .

Abstract

The fact that Parintins has been labeled “Digital City” permits a new understanding of the situation of the communication infrastructure in the Brazilian Amazon, specifically in the Amazon State. Does the reality observed in Parintins mirror the network constructed through the communication infrastructure in the region? Or is the case of Parintins isolated? How can we analyze the insertion of the Amazon, specifically of its main cities in the Informational Era? These questions, due to the reality of Parintins in the context of the Amazonian cities, gave rise to a more primordial question: what is the reality of the communication infrastructure in the Amazon, specifically in the Amazon State? How are the cities located in the biggest tropical rainforest in the world inserting themselves, or not, in the Information Era? To answer these questions the research that originated this article aimed to comprehend the spatial distribution of the communication infrastructure in the cities located along the rivers Solimões and Amazonas in the Amazon State, of which Parintins is part. In this sense, this article proposes a theoretical approach of the urban network and the communication infrastructure and as a response construct a city hierarchy and typology that has as a focus the communication infrastructure network and its influence on the urban network along the river Solimões-Amazonas.