Brazil has presented a plan to build an underwater fibre network in the northern Amazon to bring broadband the region. The 'Conexao Norte' ('Northern Connection') will deploy 7,700km of fibre along riverbeds to connect towns in the region, according to the plan developed by the Integrated Center for Army Telematics, in partnership with defense agencies, the National Education and Research Network (RNP), Telebras, Eletrobras, Padtec and the government of Amazonas.
A pilot project of 12km in the rio Negro will start in March, said the deputy head of Army IT, General Santos Guerra, who presented the project to the Minister of Communications, Ricardo Berzoini. The goal is to bring broadband to the Amazonian cities of Coari to Tefe this year, at a cost estimated at BRL 15 million, reports Teletime.
In total, the Northern Connection, part of the National Broadband Plan, will have six optical routes and extend to the Atlantic and Pacific and neighbouring countries. The project also calls for the establishment of data centres in the region. The expectation is the network will serve around 7 million people in the region, as well as 29 universities currently using satellite for broadband.
