This article was first published on the 15th of December 2019 by Patrick Carpen.
Last updated: December 15, 2019 at 14:45 pm
What’s interesting is that many residents of Lethem are presently purchasing internet services coming from neighboring Brazil. We’re thinking of the ways in which this new fiber optic cable coming from Georgetown, Guyana will positively impact the residents of the Rupununi Savannahs.
Last Wednesday, 11th of December 2019, Minister Marcos Pontos from the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communication in Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil made an exciting announcement. He said that plans are underway to run a fiber optic cable from Georgetown, Guyana, South America to the state of Roraima, which is Brazil‘s northernmost state. The fiber optic cable is intended to provide residents of Roraima, Brazil with high speed internet access.
Roraima is Brazil’s northernmost state which borders with Guyana. The capital of the state of Roraima is the city of Boa Vista. Other minor cities in Roraima include Canta, Sao Francisco, Bonfim (municipality), Normandia, and Pacaraima which borders Venezuela.
According to Minister Marcos Pontos, bidding for this project is scheduled to start in the early part of 2020. After bidding, a deadline for completion of the project will be given.
Redundancy
In English grammar, redundancy is always a bad thing, but in technology it is always a good thing. Brazil has no shortage of high speed internet – not even in Bonfim – the city bordering Lethem. In fact, internet services providers in Brazil are presently selling high speed internet services to residents of Lethem. Many of the top hotels in Lethem such as Ori, Takutu and Amazonas Hotel, to name a few, are purchasing internet services originating from Brazil. So what’s the point of another fiber optic cable coming from Georgetown? According to Minister Marcos Pontos, “redundancy.” Or, to put it simpler terms, backup. If one of the cables coming from the south breaks, we have this one from Georgetown, Guyana as backup. In other words, residents will always have access to high speed internet service with little fear of service interruption and this will positively impact education.
Yes, redundant internet with a cable coming from Georgetown, Guyana will positive impact education in Brazil, but we’re thinking about how it can also positively impact residents of the Rupununi, and we hope the Guyana Government puts something in place to make sure this cable benefits residents of the Rupununi, especially schools.
“This will make us have an internet redundancy, that is, two lines that can serve the state of Roraima. Should one line fall, we will have the other and this is a Ministry effort and is part of a program called MCTIC Conecta Brazil, which aims to bring fiber optic to the North, Northeast and Midwest Regions, and this will greatly help the development of Roraima technology,” he said.
