RNP has activated a 100 Mbps circuit connecting Embrapa Caprinos e Ovinos in Sobral to the RNP Point of Presence in Fortaleza, Ceará. In this way, the institution's researchers will be integrated to the national academic network and will be able to have high-speed internet access to collaborate with other Embrapa units and institutions in Brazil and abroad.

Currently, Embrapa Caprinos e Ovinos projects involve 22 Embrapa units, with the participation of 183 people, of which 124 are researchers, 47 analysts and 12 technicians. In addition, researchers from Embrapa Caprinos e Ovinos formally collaborate with 98 external professionals, from 38 different universities, and 13 organizations from Brazil and other countries.

An example is the integration with the Sobral Biotechnology Centre (Nubis), a research consortium that also gathers the laboratories of the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), the Vale do Acaraú State University (UVA), and the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Ceará located in the city. The interaction with the centre institutions takes place through sharing of laboratory infrastructure and through actions in partnership.

According to the head of the unit, Marco Aurélio Delmondes Bomfim, among the lines of research that most require internet bandwidth capacity, the most important are those related to animal and plant genetic improvement, and the biotechnology area, in particular the genomic and transcriptomic, since they are areas that work with large databases and require interaction between scientists from different institutions.

According to the manager, the internet bandwidth capacity and the stability of the system are essential to allow the advancement of research, for example, in collection and digitization of data by the Capragene and Genecoc herd management systems of the animal genetic improvement programs.

The 100 Mbps circuit that serves Embrapa Caprinos e Ovinos in Sobral was made possible through the project Cinturão Digital (CDC), of the Ceará government, a fibre optic ring that goes through the capital and the countryside, with over 3,500 kilometres. Today, the Cinturão Digital (Digital Belt) is shared by Etice, RNP and private providers.

Learn more on the Embrapa Caprinos e Ovinos website.