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Prysmian will lay 770km of fibre in the Amazon river in the northern part of Brazil in what is being envisaged as a northern fibre backbone for the country
For millennia, humankind has used the world’s waterways as crucial transport infrastructure for the delivery of goods and services – why should connectivity be any different?
This is the central idea behind the Norte Conectado (i.e., ‘North Connected’) project in Brazil, which plans to deploy a fibre backbone on the beneath the waters of the Amazon river. For now, the project is aimed primarily at providing improved connectivity for telecommunications, education, research, health, defense and judiciary services in the north of the country, but the possibility of taking the network further, into neighbouring countries also connected to the Amazon, remain a possibility.
In total, the Norte Conectado project is set to comprise six stages and nine stretches, ultimately aiming to roll out around 10,000km of fibre. The project is expected to be completed in 2023.
Now, Prysmian Group has announced that it has secured a contract with the government and is set to deploy 770km of submarine fibre cable as part of the project, set to link the Macapá to Santarém and Alenquer, in the northern part of Brazil. The cables will be manufactured in Germany and delivered in the second half of 2021.
Naturally, the project will require strict environmental measures to be taken to ensure there is minimal disruption of the Amazon river itself.
"We are honoured to contribute to this valuable project and support sustainable development by improving the data connectivity for the local communities and public institutions. Prysmian has been operating in Brazil for more than 90 years and is in the unique position to serve its customers directly from there," said Ashutosh Bhargava, Submarine Telecom BU Director at Prysmian Group. "This project confirms our expertise in providing state-of-the-art fibre optic submarine cable solutions and the great technical and commercial value propositions of our products."
In the early stages of this project, Prysmian expects to directly deliver connectivity to 59 municipalities.
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