Brazil to invest close to US$1.8bn in public schools connectivity

Brazil plans to invest 8.8bn reais (US$1.76bn) to connect all 138,300 public schools in the country by 2026, relying on both public and private sector resources.

The national strategy for connected schools, unveiled on Tuesday in Brasília at an event with the participation of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has been in the making for some time and was being highlighted as a priority for the government, whose term ends in 2026.

The strategy is shared by the communications ministry (MCom) and the ministry of education (MEC), although the connectivity project is overseen by the former.

“We are making a great effort to connect schools, to ensure Wi-Fi infrastructure at school units. This is the great effort here at the communications ministry,” a ministry official, requesting anonymity, told BNamericas.

This source is directly responsible for most of the ministry’s telecoms programs. “I don't have much penetration to evaluate MEC's efforts in the part that is not directly under MCom's responsibility, such as teacher training, delivery of hardware equipment, etc.”

A survey by the ICT studies center of Brazil’s internet steering committee CGI, released this week, indicates that around 7% of public schools had no internet access at all at the end of 2022. Among rural institutions, the figure is 15%.

HOW IT WORKS

The resources for the program, which was included in the broader PAC investment acceleration package, come from fees collected as part of the 5G auction in 2021, telecom services universalization fund Fust and the federal budget.

The program also brings together more specific school connectivity initiatives.

One such initiative is Gape of regulator Anatel, focused on managing the 5G auction funds aimed at schools.

According to the ministry source, Gape resources are used to connect schools in very remote areas, with little or no connectivity infrastructure. The execution of this type of access infrastructure by the public sector is “very complex,” said the source.

Another 92,000 schools closer to fiber infrastructure, meanwhile, require last-mile connectivity. In these cases, the government is planning to carry out a reverse auction. “The government will come and say: 'I want to connect this batch of 1,000 schools'. A budget will be stipulated and whoever asks for the fewest resources will take the project,” according to the source.

The contract will also include the installation of Wi-Fi in schools. 

The resources for schools that only need last-mile connectivity will come from Fust and from the PIEC program, launched by the education ministry in 2017 to finance connectivity for schools.

CHALLENGES

The different levels of public education in Brazil are the responsibility of different levels of government. University education is the responsibility of the federal government, high-school education that of states and basic education of municipalities.

“There is this federal issue. The ministry of communications is 100% federal. We do not have a dialogue with a state communications department, for example,” said the source. “That's why this strategy will bring together different bodies and entities under a strategic council that will take care of federal and inter-ministerial coordination and governance.”

Jesaias Arruda, VP of ISP and internet association Abranet, said the national strategy for connected schools is an important step towards digital inclusion. The entity also sees the program opening up opportunities for small, medium and large ISPs.

However, Arruda believes that the government will face a great challenge in enabling connectivity in a country with continental dimensions, such as Brazil.

“The challenge is to reach all areas of the country, riverside regions, favelas and others. All less favored areas will need connectivity so that digital inclusion can be a reality,” Arruda said in a statement after the project's launch ceremony.

Vivien Suruagy, president of Feninfra, the association of call center companies and firms that install and maintain telecoms and IT network infrastructure, praised the initiative in a statement and said that the telecoms sector will be essential to meet the targets.

GUIDELINES AND SPEEDS

According to the program's general guidelines, the 138,000 schools should be preferably connected by fiber optics or via satellite, with speeds of at least 1Mbps per student, in addition to having a complete Wi-Fi network.

The speed is substantially lower by current broadband standards. Initially, the government considered 50Mbps, but then backtracked.

For schools that lack even access to electricity or that only have access to electricity from fossil generators, a connection to the power grid will be made possible or photovoltaic-powered generators will be made available, according to the government.

Around 49,950 schools in the program are in the northeast, 40,365 in the southeast, 20,365 in the north, 19,825 in the south and 7,845 in the midwest.

Of total resources, 6.5bn reais are part of the PAC’s digital inclusion and connectivity pillar, drawing funds from the 5G auction, Fust, PIEC and a 2021 law on internet access in schools.

The remaining 2.3bn reais are not part of the PAC, but also come through the internet law (1.7bn reais), PIEC (350mn reais) and scientific and technological development fund FNDCT (250mn reais).