Neighboring Juazeiro (BA) and Petrolina (PE) were the first cities in the country to receive Internet Brasil chips, in the second week of December. Instituted by Law 14.351/22, the program is an initiative of the Ministry of Communications (MCom), in partnership with the Ministry of Education (MEC), and is executed by RNP.

At the Dom Avelar Brandão Vilela Municipal School, in Juazeiro (BA), director Yandria Pereira translated the expectation for the official start of the program in a cordel poem she composed: “The moment of joy has arrived / And technology radiates us / Facilitating our day by day / Helping us with routine tasks / And today I bring good news / Hurray, hurray, hurray!”, she declared, much applauded by the students. “It's the Internet Brasil program / Which will offer free Internet so you can enrich your knowledge”.

The first chip at Escola Dom Avelar went to Romildo Barbosa Amarante, 17 years old, a student of Youth and Adult Education, currently attending Stage V (equivalent to the 8th and 9th years of Elementary School). “It's a good feeling to be the first, it's rewarding”, celebrated the young man, who received the benefit from the hands of Mayor Suzana Ramos.

Romildo told of the difficulties he faced in studying, especially during the pandemic. “My Internet access outside of school was very difficult. Now it's going to help a lot, it's going to be important for research and work”, he concluded, who intends to take the medical entrance exam after finishing high school. RNP's customer relationship manager, Beatriz Zoss, was present at the chips delivery ceremony and highlighted the role of the National Education and Research Network as a facilitator of teaching throughout the country. “This moment corresponds to the materialization of the fulfillment of our great mission of helping education in Brazil. We have sought to offer new technologies, encouraging development, mobility and the approximation of knowledge through connectivity”, commented Beatriz.

At the end of the event, 12-year-old Lívia Gabriele de Souza Silva ran to the school's small garden. She sat down in one of the flowerbeds to change her cell phone chip for the new neutral chip from Internet Brasil. “It will be very good because now we will have free Internet every month”, she celebrated. Lívia wants to be an astronaut and she already knows what she's going to use the Internet for. “I'm going to use the chip to study about NASA, the planets, the universe, all of that”, she explained.

On the other side of the bridge over the São Francisco River, the Municipal School Santa Terezinha, in Petrolina (PE), also held a party for the official start of the Internet Brasil program. The gym was packed. Before distributing the chips, the school's percussion group performed the song “A Carne”, by Elza Soares. The young musicians were applauded by their colleagues.

Michele Conceição dos Santos, 12 years old, was one of the first to receive the 20Gb mobile data chip. As her father, José da Conceição, 82, registered all his children in the federal government's CadÚnico, Michele and three of her brothers who also study in Santa Terezinha had guaranteed access to the benefit. Thanks to a cousin who gave her a used cell phone as a gift, Michele is now connected to the Internet for the first time in her life. “I want to use the chip to talk via message with the teacher, my cousin and the people at school”, she said.

Ítala Dayane Neris da Silva has two daughters enrolled in Santa Terezinha. She says that the youngest, Lorena Karla, aged 10, loves to read and wants to download books with the new chip. In addition to the educational benefits, Ítala Dayane also says that she feels safer because her children now have a permanent Internet connection. “For me, it's important because it's extra security. That way I can follow up with them better, know if everything is okay, if going to school went well”, she explains.

The manager of Santa Terezinha, Izolda Freitas, spoke about expectations for the coming months, now that 942 students at her school will have an Internet connection in the palm of their hand. “I hope that we are all prepared to embark on this technology and that students will take this knowledge beyond the classroom. May they continue studying on the go, because now the Internet will be wherever they are”.

Students from 13 other schools in Caicó (RN), Mossoró (RN), Campina Grande (PB), Caruaru (PE) and Juazeiro have also received the chips. In this first stage of Internet Brasil, known as Proof of concept, up to 10,000 students will benefit. 

* Photos: Rodrigo Moura Oliveira