The first phase of deployment of fiber optic cables connecting the cities of Coari and Tefe in the Amazonas region of Brazil has been completed. A total length of 242.5 kilometers of the fiber-optic cable has been installed to connect these cities.
Satellite communication has been prevalent in the region and this was the reason behind the high cost of communication services. Deployment of fiber optic cables in the region will bring down the telecommunication cost. With the arrival of the Amazonia Connected program, around 144,000 people in the two cities will benefit from the new telecommunications infrastructure and high-quality services.
The cable is part of the information highway of the Solimoes River, one of five that will be built by the federal government on the bed of the Amazon River. The next phase will extend the network from Tefe to Tabatinga, a stretch of 942 km.
Adding all the links, more than 9,000 km of optical fiber will be deployed on the Negro, Solimoes, Madeira, Purus, and Juruá rivers, connecting 52 municipalities by 2017. An investment of BRL 1 billion to benefit 3 8 million inhabitants is planned under the project.
The Brazilian National Research and Educational Network reports that In February 2016, the optic fiber cable purchased by the Army to proceed to the second stage of the Connected Amazon Program arrived in the City of Manaus, which program is intended to take a telecommunications infrastructure to the cities in the countryside of the State of Amazonas, through the riverbeds.
After connecting two Army bases through the Negro River in July 2015 and officially launching the program, the next step is to launch the sub-fluvial cable in the stretch from the cities of Coari to Tefé, at Western Amazon, which is currently served by satellite.
The cable was bought through a contract with company Nexans, from Norway. Measuring 275 km and weighing 390 tons, it took the optic fiber 37 days of navigation through the North Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Amazon River to arrive in Manaus.
The Connected Amazon Program is an inter-agency initiative that will bring quality Internet to the riverside populations, through the riverbeds in the Amazon basin. After the implementation of the sub-fluvial optic fiber, such places will be able to enjoy a series of data network services, such as broadband Internet, telemedicine, distance learning, interconnection among health, public safety, traffic, and tourism, in addition to gains for the national defense.
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