Misiones, Chaco and Formosa invest $ 100 million for a path to Internet access

The provinces of Misiones, Chaco and Formosa have invested $ 100 million, as well as Silica Networks, to open a new international connectivity route for Argentina with the Internet.

In an act celebrated in the missionary city of Bernardo de Irigoyen, in the most eastern part of the Argentine continent, where he was iProfessionnelThe governors of these three provinces inaugurated the first section of the Capricorn Network.

This is an initiative to break with the centralization of Internet communications in Argentina, which was until now concentrated in the submarine cables of the seaside resort of Toninas, in Buenos Aires.

The fiber optic link of the Capricorn network pbades through Bernardo de Irigoyen, as it is the only dry point between Argentina and Brazil. Once on the Brazilian territory, via the operator Ampernet Telecom, communications reach the city of Sao Paulo and from there to the rest of the world, without going through Las Toninas.

But the overall project is much more ambitious: it seeks to connect the provinces of Salta and Jujuy with this network that takes its name from the Tropic of Capricorn, as well as Paraguay, Bolivia and Chile.

The most sought-after gem in the Trans-African country is the ALMA astronomical complex, located in the Atacama Desert, which generates nearly 2 terabits per day of information to be transported by fiber optic links to European research centers.

Advantages

What are the benefits of this work that began to take shape in 2016 and unites the infrastructure of three state telecommunications operators?

On the one hand, technological: instead of traveling 4,000 kilometers from one of the three provinces to go to Las Toninas, then to Sao Paulo, this route is shortened by only 1,000 kilometers to reach the capital of Brazil. This reduced distance improves network latency, essential for services such as the Internet of Things.

But the main benefit is economic: by reducing distances, tolls also fall to pay for third-party networks. According to Horacio Martínez, president of Silica Networks, a Datco group company, in the participating provinces of this network, the cost of MB data for the user in 2015 was 54.40 USD.

That value dropped to $ 7 for wholesalers, but with red Capricorn, it will fall to $ 2 or $ 3. Martínez estimated that for the user would be between 5 and 6 dollars, with a downward trend.

The participating companies are Marandu Comunicaciones (Misiones), REFSA Telecomunicaciones (Formosa), Ampernet Telecom (Brazil), Ecom (Chaco) and Silica Networks.

Capricorn's high-capacity optical fiber network now covers approximately 2,000 kilometers. The goal is to reach more than 15,000 km to reach Argentina, Brazil and Chile with access to the Pacific and the Atlantic.

As part of this federal public-private initiative, through the interconnection of each participant's fiber optic networks and the construction of new sections, the Capricorn network has already completed its first stage by uniting the provinces of Chaco , Formosa and Misiones in Argentina with Brazil.

The connection is made by the border between Bernardo de Irigoyen, in Misiones, and the Brazilian cities of Dionisio Cerqueira – Santa Catarina – and Barracão – Parana -, thus completing the exit to the Atlantic Ocean by Pato Branco, San Pablo, Rio de Janeiro. and Fortaleza.

In a second stage, which has already begun, the Capricorn network will complete its trip west to get to Chile and connect to the Pacific through the Jama Pbad, connecting the Antofagasta region to the province of Jujuy.

Thus, by connecting to the world via submarine cables that connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the network will be a key element of the regional Internet infrastructure, providing broadband connectivity to the northern provinces of Argentina. Northern Chile, southern Brazil and the main cities of Bolivia and Paraguay. It is a pool of services that can reach more than 26 million people in five countries.

Joint venture

The provincial telecommunications companies of Misiones, Chaco and Formosa have invested in recent years in the construction of optical fiber cables that cross their territory and unite their main cities, in order to promote broadband connectivity to the greatest number of people. 39 possible inhabitants and reduce the digital divide. Luis Eiman, vice president of Chaco Ecom, has estimated these investments at around $ 100 million.

The alliance with Silica Networks allows them to cross the Andes Cordillera and leave Chile with its own infrastructure and the Pacific in the Pacific, under a strategic agreement with telecom operator Ampernet Telecom.

This alliance is a first step towards the establishment of a regional pole of technological development and knowledge economy in the north of Argentina, while allowing companies, organizations and organizations to Area citizens access quality internet services at competitive prices.

In his speeches, the governors of Misiones, Hugo Pbadalacqua; from Chaco, Domingo Peppo; and Formosa, Gildo Insfrán; They agreed that the union of individual efforts resulted in a more robust telecommunications market, with the possibility of reaching places where there was no previous connectivity and favoring the '' ''. Establishing new investments in the region, encouraging the creation of productive businesses and others. knowledge-based initiatives and ICTs, which require high capacity connectivity and low latency to develop their full potential.

The only national leader present was Hector Huici, Secretary of Information and Communication Technologies, who was to listen to the criticisms of the three governors.

Insfran pointed out that the network shows "the Buenos Aires centralism of what the provinces are capable of doing". Peppo recalled the "years of postponement" experienced by the provinces because of "centralism". And he stressed that "today, in one of the most remote cities of the capital, we give an example of integration".

Pbadalacqua, who denounced the "Pantbad" in the country, stressed that "it worked well as part of the state joint venture, which did not pbad through Buenos Aires, if not by three humble provinces ". The missionary leader also recalled that this network will allow the provinces to collect royalties for tolls on the network from other operators.

Marcelo Rodríguez, president of Marandu Communications, said: "From today, thanks to the Capricorn network, Misiones is at the forefront of telecommunications, it means an Internet more and more powerful for the missionaries and a strong impulse to promote new investments, as well as to continue making sustainable progress in digital inclusion ".

"We need to provide connectivity to schools, we have 900 connected, we want to finish with 2,000 schools, and we need 27,000 MB, or one MB per 10 students," said Rodriguez, who badured that the new network would "ensure the right to connectivity". .

Eiman pointed out that the network "materializes an alliance that transforms us into important players in the regional telecommunications world and allows us to reorient the market so that the costs of connectivity and Internet access drastically decrease. Generating for our true digital inclusion region We have managed to develop the necessary technological infrastructure that will give us digital sovereignty.From this moment, we give the opportunity to all the inhabitants of northern Argentina. Access to the digital economy, guaranteeing the minimum conditions of social development that allow us to project ourselves into the future. "

Discover the latest news in the digital economy, startups, fintech, business innovation and blockchain. CLICK HERE