Brazil’s Infovia 02 Amazon fiber cable cleared for launch

Infovia 02, one of the stretches of Brazil’s Amazonian underwater fiber project Norte Conectado, secured the key preliminary permit by environmental regulator Ibama and is cleared to be launched, the communications ministry said in a statement.

The license was issued on July 5, pertaining to Associação Administradora da Faixa de 3.5GHz (EAF), and is valid through July 5, 2028, according to information BNamericas obtained from an Ibama database.

EAF is the entity formed by the telcos that submitted winning bids in the 2021 auction for 5G spectrum. The group oversees part of the auction investment obligations, including building backbones for the Amazon network project.

The investment in Infovia 02 is 268 million reais (US$49.2mn). The total investment in Norte Conectado is estimated at 1.3 billion reais.

Following the preliminary permit, the route will still require Ibama’s installation permit (LI) and the operation permit (LO) to go live.

Norte Conectado involves nine Infovias, totaling 12,000km of fiber backbone and reaching 59 locations.

To date, three underwater ones have been launched. These are Infovias 00, 01, and 03. Ibama granted all licenses for 00 and 01, but the LO for Infovia 03 is pending.

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

DELAYS

Infovia 02 had been facing delays due to the complexity of the route and a drought affecting the river where it will be submerged.

Besides, Ibama personnel was on strike, which slowed down some of the agency’s issuance processes, potentially affecting the stretch.

“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,” telecoms secretary Hermano Tercius told BNamericas in June.

China's ZTT International Submarine Cable & System was selected as the provider of the cable for 02, as well as for Infovia 03 and the upcoming 04, while Brazil’s Padtec was selected as the supplier of the optical transmission equipment for all these routes.

Infovia 02 will span 1,100km of fiber cables, benefiting 370,000 people in 12 Amazonian locations. The government did not provide details on when the cable will be launched.

It will connect the municipalities of Atalaia do Norte, Santo Antônio do Içá, Alvarães, Jutaí, São Paulo de Olivença, Uarini, Fonte Boa, Tonantins, Amaturá, Benjamin Constant, Tabatinga and Tefé, also home to around 12,000 indigenous people and riverside dwellers in around 30 villages.