Infovia begins to be installed on the Madeira River to expand internet in the Amazon More than 700 thousand people in nine municipalities in Amazonas and Rondônia will benefit from the implementation of Infovia 5, an underwater fiber optic network that began to be installed this Monday (21), on the Madeira River. The structure is part of the Norte Conectado program and will connect Autazes (AM) to Porto Velho (RO) through 1,116 kilometers of cables installed on the riverbed and another 210 kilometers of terrestrial network. According to the Ministry of Communications, the infrastructure was planned to expand connectivity in regions of the Amazon where internet access is still limited. The network should serve public bodies, such as hospitals, schools, units of the Judiciary and the Armed Forces, in addition to allowing private providers to expand the internet offering to the population. The internet will not be free, but operated by a consortium of companies. The general coordinator of Infrastructure Projects at the Ministry of Communications, Ângelo Lorenzo explained to g1 that companies interested in joining the consortium will participate in a public call. ? Join the g1 AM channel on WhatsApp "A project of this magnitude will not work if we do not have a well-thought-out structure for operation and maintenance. A consortium is formed that will operate these infovias. It is a public call. Interested companies register in this call and form a consortium that will have between three and 12 companies. This consortium will have a leader, who will be the main communication bridge to guarantee operation and maintenance on behalf of the consortium", he stated. According to the representative of the Ministry of Communications, half of the network's capacity will be used to serve public bodies, while the other half will be available for commercial exploitation by providers. “This infrastructure was designed so that half of its capacity is used by the consortium, for commercial exploitation, and the other half is used by the public authorities, to interconnect schools, hospitals, the Armed Forces and other public bodies”, he said. Federal Government expands digital infrastructure in the Amazon with new stage of Norte Conectado Infovia 5 cable began to be launched in the Madeira River this Tuesday (21) Jadson Lima/g1 AM Implementation The first stage of the launch of Infovia 5 cables takes place between Autazes and Manicoré and should last between 19 and 20 days. The cables are launched using a platform raft adapted for the operation, after technical studies that defined the route of the optical fiber on the bottom of the river. According to the Range Administrative Entity (EAF), responsible for executing the project, the route was defined based on surveys on depth, type of soil, presence of rock formations and areas subject to drought, to reduce the risk of damage to infrastructure. EAF CEO, Gina Marques, informed that the investment in Infovia 5 is estimated at between R$300 million and R$400 million, and that it should benefit around 700 thousand people. According to her, the cables have 24 pairs of optical fibers, but only one will be used initially, allowing for future expansion of the network capacity. Navigation and mining On the Madeira River, one of the main challenges is the intense movement of vessels and the dredging carried out to keep the waterway navigable. Furthermore, according to EAF Director of Operations, Geraldo Segatto, the presence of illegal mining in the region also represents a risk factor for the operation. "The Madeira River is a very different river and one of the most complex of all the infoways that we are creating due to the level of intense navigation. And another concern for us is that this is very complex because we cannot predict it", he stated. To reduce this risk, the EAF informed that, in the section between Manicoré and Porto Velho, the cables will be buried in points considered most critical, increasing protection against future dredging and other interventions in the riverbed. In the section between Autazes and Manicoré, the cable will only be laid on the bottom of the river. Segatto also stated that the entire route of the cables laid in the river is georeferenced and shared with the Navy and the National Department of Transport Infrastructure (DNIT), so that any dredging works during dry periods can be planned without compromising the network. "There is another complexity because the river during the dry season, due to the large traffic of vessels, drops a lot and it is necessary to carry out dredging to ensure that the waterway is maintained. We work with the Navy and DNIT. After the cables are launched, we share information with these bodies, he said. After the cables are completed, the Mobile High Availability Centers (CMADs) will be installed, structures that concentrate the equipment responsible for the operation of the network. The modules use solar energy and batteries to maintain the service at operation in the event of an interruption in the electricity supply. Infovia 5's underwater cables were launched this Tuesday (21) in the Madeira River.