This past June’s New Yorker profile of the newest richest man in the world, Mexico’s Carlos Slim, could be taken as a case study in privatization of communication utilities. Or it could just be the story of one man and one country. Either way, I find it particularly interesting as I’ve had some visibility of the changes that improved communication has had on one village in Mexico.
The town of Sayulita is some 30 miles north of Puerto Vallarta. Founded in the 1940′s, it primarily drew its income from fishing for 20 years until the construction of a federal highway made attracted visitors drawn to Sayulita’s surf. For a number of years I have assisted an American who owns a vacation casa on Sayulita Bay market her property.
My family has twice travelled to Sayulita to stay at the casa. The first time was before the construction of a cell tower covering Sayulita, and the second time was after. As part of the marketing of the casa, I maintain a detailed visitors guide for registered guests that is updated 2-3 times a year as the casa owner reports on changes to Sayulita and how those changes impact the way guests interact with Sayulita’s residents and the tourist economy that has become such a large part of the town’s income.
Just a few years ago, checking into the casa involved making it to a pre-arranged meeting in Sayulita’s central plaza to find the property manager. Unexpected travel delays could, and frequently did, cause guests to miss the time window. While the property manager had a landline, using it to inform him of delays only worked if someone, whether himself, his wife, or one of his grown children, happened to be in the house to answer the phone. While it was possible to arrange for a Sayulita-based taxi to meet arriving guests at the airport, this connection too was often subject to the vagaries of international travel.
From the perspective of a tourist, the rapid adoption of cell phones by residents of Sayulita once the tower was built is a convenience. After a long flight from the United States, it’s easier to coordinate with the providers of local services on arrival. But because of my peripheral role in a Sayulita-based business, I’ve more often considered the changes from the other side of the transaction.
In the case of the taxi service, there are two drivers. With cell phones they can now communicate with each other between the two ends of the trip (much of the highway is in mountainous territory where cell signals are unavailable), which makes it possible to more reliably take on more trips: Before leaving Sayulita for the airport they know if an incoming flight is delayed; On leaving the airport to return to town, they call each other so arrival time can be accurately estimated and the next trip arranged.
Similarly, the property manager now has more control of his time, as well as his family’s time. He no longer has to wait in the hopes that guests will arrive on time — if they are late he will know it and can use that time to take care of other tasks, either personal or professional.
I find it especially interesting that the property manager has chosen a cell phone that is in the Puerto Vallarta area code, while the taxi drivers have phones in the Sayulita area code. This reflects an awareness on their parts of where the bulk of the calls originating from land lines will come from, and thus who will have to pay long distance fees to reach them and who won’t.
As the saying goes, time is money. When we increase efficiency of time utilization, we also increase the potential for economic gain. While one of the attractions of time spent in Sayulita for me is that I intentionally disconnect from my gadgets and connect with the beach, the jungle, and a few margaritas, for the residents the rules of life in paradise are no different than they are for me here in Seattle. The better one connects, the bigger one’s capacity for gain.
Post a Comment