March 15th, 2024

CPQD starts two structuring projects supported by FUNTTEL resources

In addition to them, the Resource Application Plan (PAR) includes five other projects already under development in the organization

Rosa Sposito/Pimenta communication

CPQD began, in the last quarter of 2023, two new structuring projects financed by resources from the Fund for the Technological Development of Telecomcommunications (FUNTTEL), from the Ministry of Communications, via Finep. Both are part of FUNTTEL's Resource Application Plan (PAR) at Fundação CPQD, which also includes five ongoing projects – two others were closed in 2023.

One of the new features is the Optical Transport, Access and xHaul Networks project – or ROTA-x. Its main objectives are to bring quality connectivity to portions of the population that still do not have access (or have limited access) to the internet and, at the same time, tempo, prepare the infrastructure for new generations of optical, transport and access networks, and to support advanced applications – for example, augmented reality and metaverse.

Expected to last three years, the project includes research activities and review of the state of the art and market trends in these areas, carrying out preliminary experimental tests in the laboratory, the development of optical devices and validation, through proofs of concept in partnership with operators telecomcommunications and internet providers. Research and development activities are grouped into six major execution goals. In 2023, the first goal began, which consists of an in-depth review of the current state of the art for the scenarios to be explored. As a result of these activities, two patent applications were filed with the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI).

The other new project is 5GSaúde – Security, Privacy, Inclusion, Quality in Telemedicine in the Context of Web 3.0. Started in October 2023 and scheduled to run for 30 months, the project tem The objective is to develop a set of applications for the health sector, based on technologies blockchain, decentralized digital identity, Internet das Coisas (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and 5G. The applications developed will be related to electronic patient records, issuing vaccination certificates, digital prescriptions and remote patient monitoring.

To support the applications, a 5G connectivity infrastructure will be created, based on a private network in a closed environment, and two blockchain – one dedicated to recording the identity of patients, doctors and other health agents who will participate in the tests; the second dedicated to storing the smart contracts used by applications, as well as the records resulting from these contracts. The project envisages the search for partnerships with relevant actors in the sector, such as health departments, health plan operators and government bodies. In 2023, activities related to the 5GSaúde project basically consisted of technological, regulatory and standardization exploration of the health sector.

The SemeAr-0 project – Reference Digital Innovation Platform for Sustainable Agriculture in Small and Medium Producers, started in January 2021, ended in June 2023. Its objective was to develop and validate a reference platform involving technological components, standardized and structured processes, operating models and economic support to accelerate the dissemination of smart farm services to small and medium-sized rural producers. The proof of concept was carried out in the project's experimental unit located in São Miguel Arcanjo, in the interior of São Paulo, based on the Agro-Technological District (DAT) concept.

The closure of the project was marked by an event that brought together authorities – including the president of the FUNTTEL Management Board –, partners and rural producers. On the occasion, the main results obtained in one year of operation of this DAT were announced, with emphasis on the implementation of a rural connectivity infrastructure with national technology, which provided access to high quality internet and content, training, applications and services. digital agriculture – such as technical assistance and digital marketplaces. These resources, provided by CPQD partners in the project – including startups and a local internet provider – contributed to the increase in revenue and reduction of costs obtained by rural producers in DAT. Until June 2023, the initiative had the formal membership of more than 60 small producers and family farmers.

The digital inclusion of remote communities in the country was the focus of another project developed with resources from FUNTTEL, also completed in 2023. Started in December 2022, the Digital Inclusion of Remote Communities project – INDIESC, aimed to develop and implement a systemtemmonitoring for energy conversion and storage equipment in SistemIntegrated Intermittent Photovoltaic Generation (SIGFI), using photovoltaic panels and lithium and lead-acid batteries. With this, the intention is to bring connectivity to around 4.600 public schools, throughout Brazil, which do not have broadband internet access or electricity.

The project included the development of hardware and technologies for monitoring and remotely managing the internet access infrastructure in schools, using AI resources. Its main innovation is an algorithm developed to monitor essential battery parameters to ensure their continuous availability. The solution's proof of concept was carried out at CPQD itself and, in 2024, the technology will be transferred to the industry responsible for launching the product on the market. The project led to the production of an article and the team's participation in the SEPOC 2023 – 5th Seminar on Power Electronics and Control event.

The other projects conducted at CPQD within the FUNTTEL Resource Application Plan are:

Management 4.0 Telecom –GR 4.0
The project tem The objective is to provide intelligent and more efficient support to processes related to the operation, maintenance, planning and auditing of new networks. telecomcommunications, through the use of innovative resources and technologies, which include AI and machine learning, virtual assistants, augmented reality and immersive techniques. Among the results obtained in 2023, we highlight the implementation of a generative AI, using ChatGPT, to improve the quality of data entered into the knowledge base, in addition to the incorporation of speech recognition and voice response in the Digital Assistant, improving the user-machine interaction. Immersive techniques were also applied to create virtual representations of remote network elements, using mobile devices and glasses. The team responsible for executing the project also sought opportunities for partnerships with clients (mobile operators) telecomcommunications) to carry out proofs of concept.

Strategic Actions for Future Networks – AERF
Started in December 2022, tem The objective is to carry out technological research and exploratory studies in convergent paradigms of communications networks and advanced applications. Complementing the traditional challenges of optical and mobile networks, related to increasing the capacity and range of communication links, the project aims to advance the state of the art in technologies related to network services characterized by high precision and reliability, decentralized models of networks, applications that combine immersive reality, AI, mobility and edge computing, as well as scalability and automation of networks.

In 2023, state-of-the-art review activities were carried out, from technological and market aspects, in the three areas focused on in the project: Connectivity, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence. In the first, a study was conducted on optical transport and access networks, xHaul for mobile networks, networks for distributing quantum keys and providing connectivity. In blockchain, the study focused on the integration of this technology with advanced 6G networks and the challenges and demands of future communication networks. In AI, an analysis was carried out of technologies that solve communication problems between servers within data centers and between end users and remote servers, among others. Furthermore, studies continued in the area of optical communications in quantum cryptography. Two articles were prepared from this project, one of which was presented at the International Conference on Optical MEMS and Nanophotonics (OMN) 2023 and SBFoton International Optics and Photonics Conference (SBFoton IOPC). The other was published in the Proceedings of the 1st Colloquium in Blockchain and Decentralized Web, held in João Pessoa (PB).
5G BR platform – PLAT5G
Its main objective is the development of technologies for a 5G network, in accordance with the paradigms of open architecture, virtualization and disaggregation. The project includes a proof of concept aimed at the market for private networks and service providers (ISPs) and contempla the management and monitoring of services and support infrastructure, as well as the use of new technologies – such as AI – in network planning and operation and in monitoring service quality.
In 2023, the project showed great progress and had its execution deadline extended until 2024. One of the results was the completion and validation of the prototype for proof of concept aimed at managing service contracts, based on blockchain. As a result of this work, an article was published at an international event and a patent application was filed. Several evolutions were achieved in the setups in the areas of access network, orchestration, network core and RIC (RAN Intelligence Controller). It was also possible to exercise a solution integration scenario, which included the 5G access network, the Aether orchestrator, the core C2n of CPQD and the implementation of a RIC solution. The construction activities of the laboratory infrastructure for development continued, allowing the integration and interoperability of the solution developed in the project with multiple suppliers and different functionalities. The project generated the production of a total of nine articles. Some of them were presented at important events such as the 2nd Testbeds Workshop, which was part of the Brazilian Computing Society Congress (CSBC) 2023, the 31st European Signal Processing Conference (EUSIPCO 2023) and the Brazilian Symposium on Telecomcommunications and Signal Processing – SBrT 2023; others were published in technical-scientific publications such as IEEE Access and Journal of Communications and Networks.

SistemOptical at 1 Tb/s for the Internet of the Future – Phase 2 – TERANET2
It aims to explore the convergence of optoelectronic technologies for the design of systemstemoptical transport that operate with an aggregate rate of 1 Tb/s per channel and enable the construction of the Internet of the future. Technologies explored include innovative techniques for wireless transmissiontemhigh-rate ones, including digital signal processing, photonic integration, extended bandwidth optical amplification techniques, among others that will enable optical transmission between large urban centers and interconnection between data centers.
Started in November 2019, the second phase of the project was extended until March of this year. The results obtained in 2023 include the preparation of ten articles, which were presented at the events SBFoton International Optics and Photonics Conference (SBFoton IOPC), SBrT 2023 and SBMO/IEEE MTT-S International Microwave and Optoelectronics Conference (IMOC) 2023. The article Design of a silicon Mach–Zehnder modulator via deep learning and evolutionary algorithms was published in the British journal Nature Scientific Reports. Furthermore, the project resulted in six software registration deposits at INPI and an invitation to present at the Optical Networks for a Universal Internet workshop, held at the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, in Chile.

Development of Technologies and Methodology for Security Assessment and Investigation for Digital Government Networks and Applications – TECSEG
Its main objective is to carry out actions that increase cybersecurity in network networks. telecomcommunications and services. The project considers two main fronts: technological, focusing on the development of technological security components, and methodological, aiming at the development of security assessment and investigation methodologies. Both fronts seek to meet current and future demands related to the digital transformation process in Brazil, including Digital Government initiatives.
Activities in 2023 brought new information related to prospecting and experimenting with secure components, implementation and operation of networks blockchain with an eye towards interoperability and standardization. The Safety Assessment Methodology has had its development completed, alreadytemplanning all updated features. In relation to the dissemination of the project and dissemination of knowledge, the results include eight filings of patent applications, seven publications of articles and participation in events such as the Congress of the Brazilian Computing Society (CSBC 2023), the Brazilian Symposium on Computer Networks and Sistemas Distributed, the 1st Colloquium in Blockchain and Decentralized Web (CSBC 2023), the 23rd Brazilian Symposium on Information and System SecuritytemComputing, the VI Workshop in Blockchain and the IEEE Latin-American Conference on Communications.

Performance in this project also provided CPQD with the opportunity to participate in the Real Digital (Drex) pilot, promoted by the Central Bank, which consists of carrying out tests for operations with Brazilian digital currency. At this stage, the Central Bank evaluates the benefits of the programmability of the Drex Platform, an ecosystemtemthat of distributed ledger technology (DLT) where operations with digital (tokenized) assets are simulated. The pilot began in March 2023 and will run until December 2024.