Terremark Worldwide Inc. has signed a binding partnership agreement with FAPESP--the State of Sao Paulo's (Brazil) Research Foundation--to operate and manage Brazil's premier network access point (NAP). This NAP, a peering point in Brazil where carriers and access providers exchange Internet traffic, is the only peering point in that country operated by a state or federal government.
Terremark will operate and manage the Sao Paulo-based NAP do Brasil, as it will be called, at the same high quality and performance standards in effect at Terremark's NAP of the Americas--the world's 5th Tier-1 NAP--located in Miami.
Created for the funding of scientific and technological research, FAPESP functions much like the United States' National Science Foundation (NSF). Prior to the partnership with Terremark, FAPESP was responsible for the operation and management of this peering point. Through its agreement with Terremark, is now privatizing the facility much like the NSF did in 1995 with the four original Tier-1 NAPs, located in the United States.
NAP do Brasil is home to more than 30 carriers, backbone providers, ISPs, and content providers--all of which will now become Terremark's customers and can take advantage of the NAP of the America's products and services. The peering point is presently located in the FAPESP building in Sao Paulo and has severe space limitations. Increased demand by customers and others has expedited the need to expand the facility to a new, larger, permanent location for the NAP do Brasil within the next 12 months. Terremark is currently in discussion with several potential funding sources for this project, all of which are based in Brazil.
Brazil has the largest economy in South America and the ninth largest in the world. Internet usage in Brazil in 2002 is projected to be 20.5 million users and estimated to grow to 40.3 million users by 2006 therefore, making the need for an efficient, secure, and reliable connectivity point in Brazil, modeled after the NAP of the Americas, critical.
For more information about Terremark Worldwide Inc. (Miami, FL), visit the company's Web site at www.terremark.com.
For more information about FAPESP, visit www.fapesp.br.