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Global Crossing inaugurates an optical fiber underwater cable operation in Rio de Janeiro

Global Crossing, a telecommunications operator authorized by Anatel in May 2000, started its activities in Brazil on November 20 . At that time, it activated the service linking Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo to the world net of optical fiber underwater cables interconnecting North, Central and South America, Europe and Asia. Global Crossing offers telecommunications services based on IP and is the partner of Florida International University (FIU) in Americas Path Network (AMPATH) Project, which RNP will join soon. This project will allow RNP to connect to the North American Internet2 project by means of a 45 Mbps link offered by Global Crossing for three years, free of charge.

AMPATH project is an joint initiative of FIU and Global Crossing to interconnect the teaching and research networks in Latin America and the Caribbean to Internet2. The cable inaugurated by the operator is part of South American Crossing (SAC), a ring of four pairs of optical fibers surrounding all South America. In Brazil, the coastal cities directly connected to this cable are Fortaleza (CE), Rio de Janeiro (RJ) and, in the near future, Santos (SP).

RNP's participation in AMPATH project will be formalized soon, on a date still unknown. With the formalization, Global Crossing will activate a DS3 link to connect RNP's Point of Presence in Rio de Janeiro to GigaPoP in Florida, at FIU, establishing the communication between RNP2 and Abilene backbones, the latter being the most important in Internet2's project. Chile was the first Latin American country to join AMPATH, in October.

[RNP, 12.08.2000]