Rede Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa (RNP), Brazil’s national research and education network and the largest in Latin America, has selected Nokia and Q13 to modernize rede Ipê with 4.8 Tbps of aggregate capacity and a path to 800G.
The modernization will overhaul critical IP infrastructure serving more than four million users as research institutions face rising traffic from artificial intelligence, data centres, scientific collaboration and private wireless networks.
The secure, automated, high-performance IP network will provide the foundation for AI-enabled research, scientific discovery and digital innovation across Brazil.
More than 350 routers will be deployed. Nokia will supply core, aggregation, peering and universal provider edge capabilities using its 7750 Service Router and 7250 Interconnect Router platforms, while Q13 will manage implementation and migration.
The shift gives RNP core, aggregation, peering and edge equipment from a single technology provider for the first time, designed to increase automation and simplify operations across the national backbone.
RNP said the upgraded network would support research while strengthening connections between Brazilian institutions and international research communities. The organisation links to more than 125 academic networks across more than 100 countries in the Americas, Europe and Africa.
Ari Frazão, Adjunct Director of Engineering and Operations, described rede Ipê as “critical infrastructure” as AI and advanced research place heavier demands on connectivity.
The project puts network capacity at the centre of Brazil’s research ambitions, upgrading the physical infrastructure required to move increasingly large datasets securely, reliably and at speed nationwide as AI workloads reshape scientific computing.
