Get to know the voice of the coordinator of the Working Group Intelligent Control System for Networks Wireless - WG-SCIFI (UFF - Universidad Federal Fluminense ; RNP). Read this and other interviews in the book “RedCLARA: Name, voice and instrument of collaboration in Latin America”.

What do you think has been your Work Group’s major contribution to the community of Latin American academic networks and to RedCLARA?
My work group (SCIFI) has developed a last mile technology which is very useful for the members of the academic networks that are part of RedCLARA. Wireless access is increasingly more important and for many people it is the only way to access the internet. The development of open code software (free of charge), which enables lower cost hardware to have the same features of high-cost wireless equipment, is a “bonus” for research institutions and universities that today are in the process of developing wireless infrastructure.

For example, USP spends 25 million Reais (nearly US$ 12 million) to develop wireless access throughout its campus. By using SCIFI this cost would go down to 3 million Reais. UFF, UFV and UFOP in Brazil are using SCIFI for their campuses.

Although SCIFI is not at the leading edge of academic networks providers, it can be used to show the value of cooperation and create a core of users which is more closely incorporated; as open code software it creates an opportunity for community construction.

What do you think has been RedCLARA’s contribution to Latin America?
Before RedCLARA there was not much interaction or physical links connecting Latin American networks. Communication with Europe was mediated through the United States, to which the majority, if not the entirety, of Latin American countries were connected. Networks become more useful as they have more users, and the lack of motivation to interconnect Latin America did not help countries. RedCLARA has brought the experience of many countries and made it possible that not only ideas become evident, but also showed the similar needs of member networks, thus promoting progress across the region.

What is the key important aspect of CLARA-TEC for you and your network?
Although I am not a member of any NREN, as a professor in a client institution, attending CLARA-TEC meetings has enabled me not only to learn about new cutting edge technologies for network practices and research, but also to meet other people from countries with similar experiences and learn from their accumulated knowledge. The creation of a group of experts, who are struggling with different problems in similar contexts, is a very valuable asset. Since all countries in the region face similar problems, solutions can be reused and the exchanged promoted by CLARA-TEC enhances everything.

How important is for your Work Group the collaboration established within CLARA-TEC and through it with national and regional networks?
Working in networks is a largely applied science. The technology that is being developed is intended to be used, and not only by the academic world of increasing knowledge. In Work Groups we deal with real problems in a timely way, and we need a group of users to validate the solutions developed. With CLARA-TEC we have access to a greater group of users and to different scenarios with similar problems, which enables the development of useful and general solutions.

If RedCLARA did not exist, what do you think the technical development scenario in the region would be like?
Brazil has a history of network research, so RedCLARA’s role has been to open our eyes so we can see that the technology is being developed in the country, that it has needs that are very different from those of developed countries like the United States or those densely populated regions like Europe, Japan and Korea, and that it can be used by other countries, by our neighbours. For a long time, maybe due to language barriers, Brazil has not cooperated with our closest neighbours. And RedCLARA has not only contributed to connecting the region and promoting the development of new technologies like the one developed by my group, which serves institutions that require large wireless networks but that cannot afford the technologies developed by richer countries.

From your point of view, what should be the role of RedCLARA over the next five years?
That is not a simple question. Although it is clear that in some countries academic networks have found the way, in others the benefits of promoting science are not so clear, since they are still struggling for survival. I think RedCLARA should find ways to make networks self-sustainable and promote initiatives which turn academic networks into a good alternative for commercial offers. The work group’s programme, which makes it possible to deal with specific problems, should continue. The increase of connectivity in the area should also be promoted.