FCT and EMACOM protocol for the use of submarine optical fiber

The Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and EMACOM – Madeira Telecomunications, owned by the Madeira Electricity Company, signed this Monday (May 23) a cooperation protocol that aims to promote the use of fiber optics for research purposes, namely in the areas of seismology, volcanology, marine ecology and oceanic conditions.

The agreement constitutes the first step towards the materialization of GEOLab, an initiative aimed at the research community, which also includes the participation of the Ellalink Group, which owns the submarine system that connects Europe to Latin America and which has a dedicated fiber optic pair between Funchal and Sines, and GEANT, the main European network aimed at research and education.

Through this protocol, EMACOM undertakes to grant the rights to use the optical fiber for all equipment supporting the scientific experiments to be carried out within the scope of the project and its connection with RCTS – Science, Technology and Society Network, whose management and operation will be the responsibility of FCT, through its National Scientific Computing Unit (FCCN).

The FCT also adds to this responsibility the commitment to ensure access to GEOLab by the research and teaching community, in a partnership that aims to take advantage of human and technological potential, through the sharing of technological resources in the areas of research and connectivity, namely through the use of a submarine cable system.

Within the scope of the protocol, the FCT will be responsible for taking steps to activate a new RCTS Point of Presence (PoP) at the CLS (Cable Landing Station) in Funchal and to reinforce the Penteada PoP, located at the University of Madeira, in order to ensure connectivity to the global internet through the GEOLab Science, Technology and Society Network (RCTS).

EMACOM – Telecomunicações da Madeira owns a fiber optic pair between Madeira and mainland Portugal, in the EllaLink system, a system that consists of a low-latency submarine cable that is 6,000 km long and connects Brazil to Europe, with points of presence in Portugal (Sines and Lisbon), Spain and France. EMACOM also has an optical fibre in the Ellalink system, approximately 56km long, which starts at the Madeira landing station and is a resource of great interest to the research and teaching community, in activities related to earth observation, particularly seabed movements.