Santarem, Para. 33º C. 10am. Not far from where the Tapajós River meets the Amazon River, a delegation was also meeting with representatives of the National Education and Research Network (RNP); Ministry of Communications (MCom); Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI); Ministry of Education (MEC); and the Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights, coming mainly from Brasilia. There began the programming of the 1st Seminar of the Norte Conectado Program, to discuss the role of the initiative in the evolution of public services and the implementation of 5G in the Amazon. 

To begin with, a technical visit was made to the Modular Data Center in Santarém (PA), located on the Tapajós campus of the Federal University of Western Pará (Ufopa). The container that holds the equipment is the “end”, where the optical fiber cables that come from the Amazon River end. In addition to the one visited in Santarém (PA), there are four others distributed in the cities of Macapá (AP), Almeirim (PA), Monte Alegre (PA) and Alenquer (PA), which are linked by the Program.

Afterwards, it was time to visit the Fluminense Municipal School of Early Childhood Education and Elementary School. The public school with about a thousand students is connected by another connectivity project, the Connected Education Innovation Program (PIEC), an initiative of the MEC. Soon, the school will be served by the Santarém Metropolitan Network, through Redecomep (Education and Research Community Networks), which implements high-speed networks in the country's metropolitan regions connected by RNP's Points of Presence (PoPs). The change will improve quality and increase internet capacity.

Back at the Tapajós campus, at the Federal University of Western Pará (Ufopa), in the early afternoon, at 2 pm, the auditorium became the stage for discussions on the Norte Conectado Program. The opening of the event was attended by MCom's Telecommunications Secretary, Nathalia Lobo; also from MCom, Marcus Arrais, coordinator of the Management Committee of the Norte Conectado Program; the general director of RNP, Nelson Simões; the dean of Ufopa, professor Adelnize Xavier; and the consortium leader of the Neutral Operator and CEO of Wirelink, Sérgio Ribeiro.

At this moment, Professor Adelnize Xavier welcomed those present through an inspiring speech. “The University is a differential in the education and development of our people. Today, the eyes of the world turn to the Amazon, but few people come here and look into our eyes to find out what we really want. It is from our people that a sustainable development model must be created. And, for that, the people here need to be trained, qualified and heard, so that they can be the transformation that our region needs. And this is only possible through the University. I really appreciate the willingness of each one of you to be here, getting to know our city and the region through which the Norte Conectado Program passes”, she said.

MCom's Telecommunications Secretary, Nathalia Lobo, also spoke to the public at the opening and celebrated the delivery of Infovia 00, which connects Macapá (AP) to Alenquer (PA): “It is with great joy that we celebrate today the delivery of the Neutral Operator, to improve the quality of the internet in the region. Being here is an opportunity to learn about the reality of the North region”. Then, Marcus Arrais, coordinator of the Steering Committee, presented Norte Conectado, from its creation, through the operation and maintenance of Infovia 00 and, more recently, the formation of the Neutral Operator consortium, to the most current milestones.

Celebrating the beginning of the event, the first panel of the Seminar discussed the evolution of public services in the region, driven by the Norte Conectado. The director of Coordination and Support for Basic Education Networks at MEC, Ana Caroline Santos Vilasboas; the MCTI Science and Technology analyst, Cristina Uechi; the project manager at the Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights, Suzana Oliveira; MCom's General Coordinator of Studies and Connectivity Marcel Fleury; the dean of Ufopa, Adelnize Xavier; with mediation by Eduardo Faria, technical advisor at the Civil House of the Presidency of the Republic.

Then, the second panel discussed the Development of the Telecommunications Sector in the Amazon Region – Norte Conectado and 5G. The director of Engineering and Operations at RNP, Eduardo Grizendi; the Regional Manager in the states of Pará, Maranhão and Amapá of Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency), Carnot Guimarães; the CEO of Wirelink, Sérgio Ribeiro; and the member of the Board of Directors of the Brazilian Association of Internet and Telecommunications Providers (Abrint), Janyel Leite. Eduardo Tude, president of the consultancy Teleco moderated the debate.

On the occasion, RNP's Director of Engineering and Operations contextualized the steps taken so far in the Program and what lies ahead. “We needed to devise a sharing model and we did it in the form of an open consortium of providers and operators. We have already finalized Infovia 00, it is already operational. All in a very collaborative way, with shared skills. Now it is Infovia 01. It will not be implemented in the future. It is already being implemented now, at present, and should be completed by the first quarter of 2023”, announced Grizendi.

Finally, the third and last panel dealt with the Norte Conectado Governance Model – Steering Committee and the Neutral Operation. This time, secretary Nathalia Lobo, from MCom, moderated the conversation, with the participation of Marcus Arrais, also from MCom; the general director of RNP, Nelson Simões; and Ana Caroline Vilasboas, from MEC. 

So, Nelson Simões defended the importance of having the multiple actors that are part of Norte Conectado for the success of the Program. “This moment today is very rich. We saw here today representatives of the Government, Private Sector, University... If we do not conduct an articulated and orchestrated process to overcome the deficiencies that we have in our country, in telecommunications or in science and research, for example, it is very difficult to achieve success. Nobody does it alone in Brazil. We are doing it together, each understanding and supporting the other's role. This is the model that was designed to provide quality internet access in the Amazon. I'm very happy to come here and see that it's working!”, he cheered.

About the Norte Conectado program

This initiative aims to expand the communications infrastructure in the Amazon Region, expand internet access in the region and thus meet public policies on telecommunications, education, research, health, advocacy and the judiciary. The Program has already launched, in a sub-river environment, an optical fiber backbone that connects Macapá (AP) to Alenquer (PA), passing through Almeirim, Monte Alegre and Santarém, three cities in Pará. For the implementation of the so-called Infovia 00, 770 km of optical fiber cables were laid in the bed of the Amazon River, with operation and maintenance by the Neutral Operator, a consortium of six companies, led by Wirelink. Infovia 00 is the first of a total of eight infovias that will connect the North region.