Brazil to install 12 thousand internet access points in public schools

Brazil’s government announced the installation of 12 thousand new internet access points in public schools across the country. The move should take place as part of program WiFi Brasil, spearheaded by the Ministry of Communications.

During the launch ceremony at the Planalto presidential palace Tuesday (Apr. 12), Brazil’s Communications Minister Fábio Faria said the new connections will be installed over the next four months. The even was attended by President Jair Bolsonaro.

Brazil had about 25 thousand schools with no internet access in 2020, he noted. Following the new deals, all schools should go online by the end of the year.

Under the initiative, 9,853 access points are reported to have been installed in schools so far—93 percent of them in rural areas.

“Yes, we’re bringing all of Brazil online by December this year,” said President Bolsonaro.

How it works

The program operates in two modalities. In one of them, antennas and routers are installed in specific locations—such as schools, rural settlements, basic health centers, and indigenous villages. In the other, antennas are made available at public squares with access free to the general public.

Of the 15 thousand access points installed thus far, over 10 thousand are located in rural areas and regions far away from urban centers. These are connection points with speed varying from 10 to 20 megabits per second, according to information from the ministry.

The antennas under the initiative receive the signal sent by the Geostationary Defense and Strategic Communications Satellite (SGDC), a Brazilian piece of technology 36 thousand kilometers away from Earth. The satellite went into orbit in 2017 and is the only Brazilian satellite capable of providing high-speed broadband internet connection anywhere in the country. Of mixed civilian and military use, the satellite also serves the Armed Forces in strategic national defense projects.