15/06/2022

In Folha, Viana recalls the history of the internet in Brazil.

Reproduction of Marcelo Viana's column in Folha de S. Paulo.

It was the beginning of 1990, and I was typing my doctoral thesis on one of the few computers available at the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA). I noticed a different structure on the wall: they explained that it was "for connecting the computers in a network."

I thought it was absurd: connecting computers to each other for what?! It was my first contact with one of the greatest revolutions in the history of communication: the internet.

The fact that it manifested itself so early at IMPA was no coincidence. The head of the technology sector at the institute, researcher Jonas Gomes, was part of a group of pioneers led by scientist Tadao Takahashi, who had been thinking about the implementation of the internet in the country. Jonas brought the discussions to IMPA, which ended up being, for more than a decade, the headquarters of the National Education and Research Network (RNP), the organization that created the internet in Brazil.

Some advocated for a closed model for the Brazilian network. This would be consistent with the logic of our entirely state-owned telephone system. And there were precedents: France had taken the lead with the launch, at the end of the 1970s, of Minitel, a successful state-owned system for communication between home terminals via telephone lines.

Around 1992, Minitel was in 6.5 million French homes and offered thousands of types of transactions, and was expanding to other countries. But, unable to evolve properly, it was dead ten years later. On a visit to the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Paris, years ago, I explained to my children that that little machine was the internet of yesteryear, but they didn't pay any attention.

The fact that Rio de Janeiro hosted the Eco-92 conference from June 3rd to 14th, 1992, paved the way for Brazil to enter directly into the era of the open internet.

The presence of numerous journalists and organizations from around the world demanded a connection to the international network. Knowing that the state telecommunications system could not provide such access, the organizers negotiated with RNP (National Research and Education Network) for its creation for the conference, in exchange for the donation of the necessary equipment. Thus, 30 years ago, the country's first internet network was born, connecting 11 cities through 64 and 9.6 kb/s "backbones" and had two 64 kb/s connections to the United States.

To read the full text, visit the newspaper's website.