Brazil activates 770km Amazon fiber route

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil activated Infovia 00, the first section of its flagship fiber project on the Amazon River called Norte Conectado.

The environmental regulator Ibama granted full permission for the 770km route in the first week of July, reported the national research and education network, RNP.

The entity was responsible for the first section because of its experience in backbone connectivity and because the government wanted to test the model.

The Federal Government created Norte Conectado (“Connected North”) to expand the communications infrastructure in the Amazon region through a submarine fiber backbone network composed of eight stretches extending along the Amazon basin’s rivers.

From a structural perspective, Infovia 00 was ready to go into service since May, as RNP’s engineering and operations director, Eduardo Grizendi, told BNamericas on that occasion.

In Infovia 00, RNP had already installed the DWDM system, a technology that lights the fiber backbone for transmission. It also installed all the other system parts, including the access networks (from the backbone to the locations), landing stations, modular data centers, and related equipment.

In addition to the final environmental authorization, the contract with the consortium that will operate and maintain the network was pending formalization. This group is formed by Telefônica Brasil as the anchor telecommunications operator and internet service providers BRDigital, Wirelink, Icom, SEA Telecom, and Aquamar.

Another operator and telecommunications services company were interested in joining the consortium, Grizendi said earlier.

In its statement, RNP confirmed that the process would be reopened to new participants in August.

This consortium will share infrastructure to provide a rich offer of telecommunications services in the region.

INFOVIA 01

RNP confirmed that the second section of Norte Conectado, Infovia 01, will start operations in March.

According to the entity, the qualification process for operators and suppliers interested in sharing the infrastructure of this second section will be launched in August.

Although RNP has a representative in Norte Conectado’s steering committee, the entity will not be the coordinator of Infovia 01 or the subsequent sections of the program.

EAD (Seja Digital – “Be Digital”) will be in charge of Infovia 01.

The group comprises telcos and broadcasters to oversee the implementation of resources related to the digitization of television as part of the obligations of the 700MHz spectrum auction in 2014.

BNamericas previously reported that EAD contracted Chinese fiber optic manufacturer Hengtong to supply the cabling for the second tranche. Italy’s Prysmian was the supplier for Infovia 00.

Founded in 1991, Hengtong is the majority shareholder of HMN, formerly Huawei Marine Networks (HMN), a spun-off subsidiary of Chinese firm Huawei.

Hengtong also has a factory in Pouso Alegre, in Minas Gerais state, where the fiber for Infovia 01 is manufactured.

With information from Bnamericas