By the end of October, a major backbone expansion of the metropolitan network of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, will be completed, the GigaNatal network, opened in 2008 and part of the Redecomep initiative, coordinated by RNP. 

The initial 40 km will be extended over 120 km, totaling 160 km of optical fiber, which allows for the interconnection of the different campi of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte - UFRN), the Federal Institute of Rio Grande do Norte (Instituto Federal do Rio Grande do Norte - IFRN), and the State University of Rio Grande do Norte (Universidade Estadual do Rio Grande do Norte - UERN), as well as reference schools, all of them located in the metropolitan region of Natal. Apart from Natal, the region involves the municipalities of Parnamirim, São Gonçalo do Amarante, Extremoz, Ceará-Mirim, and Macaíba.

“This expansion is very important for IFRN, since the Giga Natal network has provided connectivity with quality and speed consistent with the current needs of the institute. Of the 20 units that we have statewide, eight of them operate in the metropolitan region of Natal and, currently, in any unit IFRN it is essential the proper functioning of connectivity links”, explains the IFRN IT Management director, Alex Fabiano Furtunato. “Much of the benefit we have with the network is due to the excellent management by the PoP-RN (RNP’s Point of Presence in Rio Grande do Norte), which has fetched a self-sustaining model that enables a great stability in the services provided. Without an initiative such as the Giga Natal, we would be spending a lot more funds for the same service in the private sector”, he highlights.  

At UFRN, in addition to the expansion of Giga Natal, the network speed is critical for advanced communication services such as the IP telephony (VoIP), videoconference, and telemedicine, already consolidated in the Central Campus of the university, to be offered in other units of the institution. “Studies that require high-speed networks may also be developed in our four campi of the countryside. One of the most benefited campi will be the Macaíba one, where there are the Neuroscience Institute of Natal and the Brain Institute, both with data centers that need to deal with large volumes of data”, says the managing director of informatics at the university, Aluízio Rocha.   

The Giga Natal expansion project is being undertaken by UFRN, in partnership with RNP, with federal funds from the Ministry of Education (MEC). The UFRN is the leader institution in network utilization and is also responsible for obtaining the funds that allow network operation and maintenance of its infrastructure. 

In addition to the 160 km of the network backbone, 300 km of access network are being built for core network capillarization, with derivations from certain points that reach around 350 municipal schools in the Greater area of Natal. The expansion will also allow for future inclusion of health centers and units connected to public safety, such as police stations. The expected completion of works for this access network and the activation of calls in most schools is scheduled for mid-2015.