RNP is sharing its expertise and pioneering spirit to promote the innovative use of advanced networks with other countries, cooperating technically to strengthen the Mozambique Research and Education Network,  MoRENet. The work plan contemplate three activities: training in Information Technology; exchange of best practices in management and research networks governance and exchange of information on technical and operational management. The Mozambican network is interested in university wireless network projects, because there is an expectation to deploy it to 16 campuses in the country. 

The idea of wifi networks came by noticing the universities that are already connected to the local academic network but not supply the services to a reasonable number of users, because access to internet is just possible in computer classes. “With the installation of wireless networks, the expectation is to reach, at least, 50% of the academic universe of each higher education and research institution”, explain the MoRENet executive director, Salvador Adriano.

Since 2013, RNP and MoRENet perform various technical cooperation activities, such as the development of work plans, discussion of analysis of business models, training of MoReNet professionals to act as multipliers in courses in methodology of Networks School (ESR) in Mozambique, sharing of documentation on usage policy, doing cooperation agreements for the Research and Education Community Networks (Redecomep) initiative, visiting of technicians to the events by RNP, sending of documents with technical specifications and best practices for installation of videoconference room, presentations of projects of wifi networks in university campuses, cooperating of agreements for the installation of Points of Presence (PoPs), among others.

To Salvador, the cooperation activities are very positive. “The training that RNP, through its Networks School (ESR), offered to the three MoRENet engineers, was very useful, both for a vision of what a mature network is, but also on how its operation and its challenges are”, he assessed.

RNP just received a visit from the Mozambique Electronic Government Project and Communication Infrastructure and advisor to the Ministry of Science and Technology coordinator, Lourino Chemane, and MoRENet executive director, Salvador Adriano. The executives had the opportunity to get to know the RNP offices in Brasília and Rio, and also the campuses of user universities of services by the organization, to present deployment projects of the university wireless networks. They visited the campus of the University of Brasília (UnB) and the Federal Fluminense University (UFF), in Río. “Our goal was to live experiences of how RNP operates, where it seeks funding, how it manages the network, how it interacts with clients and how it coach their collaborators”, said the MoRENet executive director. 

For the future, Salvador expects, very soon, to offer services such as Videoaula@RNP, fone@RNP and eduroam, some of them in partnership with RNP. “By the end of 2015, our goal is to have over 80 higher education and research institutions connected to the network”, he finished.

About MoRENet

The Mozambique Research and Education Network (MoRENet) intends to interconnect the research and higher education institutions to each other and then connect to similar networks such as Ubuntenet, Géant, Internet2, RedCLARA, among others. It will be national and of a high speed, making quality and economic, technologic and institutional sustainability services available, in order to be an essential partner in the development of the Mozambican academic community.

MoRENET currently operates at the Park of the Maluana National Science and Technology Parks Company, located 60 km from Maputo. The Maluana Park intends to be the catalyst for innovation in Mozambique, with incubation rooms and laboratories, including space to accommodate startups. The network has project status within the Ministry of Science and Technology, Higher Education and Vocational Technical Education, until it reaches sufficient size to become autonomous.