Nokia and Q13 to modernise Brazil's research and education network

Details: Vaughan O'Grady; Category: Data Centres & Networks; 06 October 2026; 2990 views

Nokia has announced that Rede Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa (RNP), Brazil's national research and education network (NREN), has selected Nokia and technology company Q13 to modernise rede Ipê, which it describes as critical infrastructure for Brazil’s research and education communities.

RNP is the largest NREN in Latin America. The new secure, automated and high-performance IP network will connect more than four million users and will provide the foundation for AI-enabled research, scientific discovery and digital innovation across Brazil.

Q13, a company specialised in technology and digital transformation solutions, working across infrastructure, connectivity, security, observability and innovation projects, will lead implementation and migration across the network.

Nokia says the new architecture will help meet growing demand for data centre connectivity, large-scale scientific collaboration, private wireless networks and AI-enabled applications. By connecting institutions, people, data and intelligence more securely and reliably, it will accelerate research in areas including health, climate science, biodiversity and engineering.

Ari Frazão, Adjunct Director of Engineering and Operations, RNP, explains that as demand for AI and advanced research grows, Brazil’s research and education communities need a network that can scale with those requirements while connecting people, institutions and ideas across the country. He says: “This modernisation will help expand access to knowledge and provide a stronger digital foundation for Brazil’s future. For the first time, RNP will have core, aggregation, peering and edge equipment from a single technology provider, enabling us to invest significantly in network automation.”

The expectation is that this modernisation will expand access to knowledge, strengthen digital inclusion and deepen Brazil's participation in the global research community. RNP connects to more than 125 academic networks across over 100 countries across the Americas, Europe and Africa.

The deployment will deliver 4.8 Tbps of aggregate capacity across more than 350 routers, creating a scalable IP backbone ready to evolve to 800G. Nokia will provide core, aggregation, peering and universal provider edge capabilities using its 7750 Service Router and 7250 Interconnect Router platforms.