Brazil on track to launch 2 Amazon underwater cables this year

Brazil’s communications ministry is on track with its 2024 plan to launch two stretches of the Norte Conectado underwater fiber project in the Amazon basin, the ministry’s telecoms secretary, Hermano Tercius, told BNamericas.

To date, the government has launched the so-called Infovias 00, 01 and 03 underwater cables – with deployment of the latter being completed last month.

The cable for Infovia 03 was manufactured by China’s ZTT International Submarine Cable & System, while Brazil’s Padtec supplied the system’s optical DWDM solution.

“For this year, our plan is to launch Infovias 02 and 04. We’re on track. Next year we will launch three more, completing the main trunk line of the project,” Tercius said on Wednesday on the sidelines of ISP association Abrint’s 2024 conference, held in São Paulo.

The processes to select suppliers are currently ongoing for Infovias 05, 06 and 08.

EAF, an entity created by Brazilian carriers, launched a call in April to contract cable providers for the three routes.

Formed by the telcos that submitted winning bids in the 2021 auction for 5G spectrum, EAF is overseeing the firms’ investment commitments, including building backbones for the Amazon network project.

The group is responsible for the construction of six of the project’s sections. These comprise 10,000km of underwater cables and involve investments of approximately 1.5 billion reais (US$279 million).

Infovia 00 was put forward by national research network RNP and Infovia 01 by Gired/EAD, which oversees commitments tied to the 2014 4G tender.

DESAL PLANT

Tercius also praised Ceará state's decision to change the location of a planned desalination plant on Praia do Futuro beach in state capital Fortaleza.

The area is a landing point for telecom submarine cables and a South American internet hub, and the plant’s construction could have put systems at risk.

Tercius said he had participated in the talks with Ceará state governor Elmano de Freitas that led to the location change, and added that an official announcement on the matter will be made in Brasília on Friday.

“It was a victory, built after a long time of discussion for the telecommunications sector. And it was also a victory for Ceará, for Fortaleza, which could lose submarine cables," Tercius said.

POLES, FUNDING AND 6GHZ

The opening of the Abrint event was marked by speeches calling for a solution to the shared use of poles by internet service providers and power utilities.

There were also calls to keep the entire 6GHz band for Wi-Fi use, rather than for mobile carriers’ broadband, as well as for new forms of funding projects.

Siding with the sector, communications minister Juscelino Filho called on electric power regulator Aneel to pursue a negotiated solution for the poles in terms of pricing and occupancy rules. 

Telecoms regulator Anatel has presented its own proposal to Aneel following the policy known as Poste Legal, which was announced by Filho last year. Talks regarding this matter at Aneel are reportedly stalled. 

"Anatel approved it and sent it to Aneel, which is discussing the topic. We have demanded a position from the agency, which is now responsible for giving this guidance," Filho said at the event.

"We need to put an end to this pole madness. We can't work with this constant insecurity, abusive prices and rules that are changed from one day to the next, accompanied by abuses, fines and arbitrariness," said Abrint president Mauricélio Oliveira.

INDICTMENT

Also on Wednesday, Filho was indicted by federal police in a corruption case unrelated to the ministry. He is accused of diverting parliamentary funds to the city where his sister is mayor.

Filho left the event in a hurry, without speaking to the press. He later issued a statement denying any wrongdoing.