RedeVASF is inaugurated in Petrolina (PE)

The Metropolitan Network of Vale do São Francisco, (RedeVASF) was inaugurated this Monday, 12/8, an initiative coordinated by RNP, which is part of the Research and Education Community Networks (Redecomep) program, and encompasses the municipalities of Petrolina (PE) and Juazeiro (BA).

The ceremony was held at the Petrolina Campus Auditorium, of the Federal University of Vale do São Francisco (Univasf), with the presence of Petrolina’s Mayor, Júlio Emílio Lóssio; of Juazeiro’s Mayor, Isaac Carvalho; the institution’s rector, Julianeli Tolentino de Lima; RNP’s Engineering and Operations Director, Eduardo Grizendi; and RedeVASF’s Manager Committee president, Jonildo Cordeiro, in addition to representatives of the institutions that comprise the network: in Petrolina, the Institute of Technology of Pernambuco (Itep), Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of the Sertão Pernambucano (IF Sertão-PE), the University of Pernambuco (UPE), the Agronomic Institute of Pernambuco (IPA), the College of Applied and Social Sciences of Petrolina (Facape) and the Energy Company of Pernambuco (Celpe); and in Juazeiro, the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Bahia (IFBA), the University of the State of Bahia (Uneb), the Electricity Company of the State of Bahia (Coelba) and the São Francisco Hydroelectric Company (Chesf).

For the implementation of RedeVASF, R$ 1.8 million were invested in 90 km of optical network that interconnects research and education institutions in the cities of Petrolina and Juazeiro. According to Eduardo Grizendi, this is the first network implemented between two states. "Our goal is to provide better services to RNP user institutions. As it is a fiber optic network, RedeVASF enables better connectivity and education network services such as video and web conferencing, VoIP, among others" he said. In addition to presenting the network in its extension, the director mentioned the availability of operation at 1 Gbps.

Julius Lossio stressed the importance of the new network. "When I received the news of the RedeVASF deployment in my first term, I was very interested. At the time we created the Digital Valley, and, as managers, we need to develop the field of scientific research and integration between universities and research units. In partnership everything is more feasible", said the mayor of Petrolina. Isaac Carvalho ratified the opinion. "The RedeVASF is the first interstate and Juazeiro is the one one contemplated in Bahia countryside. From the 90km of optic fibres, 35 km pass through the city. I hope that this partnership remains strong so that we can further enhance our region and, soon, export not only fruits but technology", said the mayor of Juazeiro. The President of Itep, Frederico Cavalcanti not only highlighted the importance of partnership with the two cities’ municipalities to operationalize the network as mentioned “a future expansion to think".

The RedeVASF is part of the expansion of Redecomep program, which is currently present in 24 Brazilian cities and 17 metropolitan areas in six states of the country, through the implementation of 41 optical networks throughout Brazil. The new network represents the challenge of expanding the advanced networks infrastructure in the city, an opportunity to contribute to the democratization of information and knowledge access. It also allows the development of scientific research, the integration between universities and research institutes, and the exchange of information.

The metropolitan networks are high-value assets, resulting from the use of public funds to support the development of science, technology and innovation systems. They also add the country on the world of high-performance optical networks experimentation, on equal terms for Brazilian researchers in international collaborative projects.