History
Ansp Network (Academic Network at São Paulo) was created in 1988 by Fapesp president, Prof. Oscar Sala, as a special Project to meet a request of three universities from São Paulo state.
After its approval by Fapesp top council, the project was allocated in Fapesp Data Processing Center, under Prof. Demi Getschko’s supervision, and recognized by Fermilab as a cooperative network. After understandings with Embratel and SEI (Special Secretary of Technology), a connection of 4800 bps (bits per second) between United States (Fermilab, Illinois) and Brasil (São Paulo state) was installed.
Fapesp deployed the international link of communication equipment, providing exclusive access to academic users from São Paulo trough dedicated lines and National Network Package (Renpac) of Embratel. By 2000, it had already invested about US$ 24 million on this project.
Ansp Network started with five links, having Fapesp as an international gateway and the other four were the main three public universities of SP (USP, Unicamp e Unesp) and Technology Research Institute (IPT). At that time, the current network was called Bitnet (acronym for Because It's Time Network), combined with DECnet. See more in the interview with Mr. Alberto Gomide.
According to Veja Magazine Report (edition 1076, 1989, pages 86 and 87), the official inauguration of Ansp Network and its connection with Bitnet happened in April 14th, 1989, attended by the then governor of São Paulo, Orestes Quercia and the State Secretary of Science, Technology and Economic Development, at Fapesp, Luiz Gonzaga Beluzzo.
In September 1989, brazilian federal government created the Research National Network (Rede Nacional de Pesquisa – RNP), supported by National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq), and Ansp became RNP representative at São Paulo. In February 1991, Ansp project adopted TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) and began to provide access to the Internet for network members through a 9600 bps link.
From 1992 to 1994, Ansp project was the only access to the Internet in Brazil, both the academic and commercial traffic. So, the project is considered part of Internet roots in Brazil.
Until the late twentieth century, Ansp Network connections were basically of two types: by radio or hired private lign (PL). The radio links were established in the same region of a city and depended mainly of absence of physical obstacles between antennas. On the other hand, PL connections occurred between cities or in situations where the radio service was not efficient. Both types did not exceed the rate of 2 mbps (megabits per second).
In 1998, Ansp Network decided to establish a Network Access Point (NAP) in São Paulo, or Traffic Exchange Point (Ponto de Troca de Tráfego - PTT), as it became called in Brazil. At the time, the PTT operation, initially in an experimental character, tried to follow the Internet Manager Committee in Brazil (Comitê Gestor da Internet no Brasil - CGI) recommendations. One of the demands made on PTT participants was that peering agreement (exchanging traffic) with Ansp Network would be mandatory.
In 2001, the deployment of the project named Advanced Ansp began, connecting cities of São Paulo state where the main universities campis were located. The connections between cities occurred in speeds of 155 Mbps (STM-1, in telecommunication jargon), 34 Mbps (E3) or 2 Mbps (E1).
By accepting the challenge to build these linkages on the scale proposed by Advanced Ansp project, Telefonica implemented a SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) network for meeting the project links requirements, while Ansp Network team worked on the routing configuration and network equipment, when it established partnerships with companies as Nortel Networks and Foundry Networks.
Ansp and Fapesp established an agreement with Florida International University (FIU) and the Academic Network at São Paulo became part of AMericasPATH (AMPATH) project, funded by National Science Foundation (NSF). With this project, universities at São Paulo had access to Abilene Network (Internet2) for the first time, and also had access to ten National Research and Educational Networks (NRNs) in Latin America, including Caribbean and Mexico. The connection was of 45 Mbps, provided by Global Crossing.
In 2003 began a discussion in Fapesp regarding connections cost transfer for universities. Institutions like Unesp, e.g., realized the strategic importance of controlling their own network. So, they decided that Ansp Network would work in the same way of a PTT and continue as an internet commodity and Internet2 provider.
Therefore, in 2004, instead to provide a connection for each University and Research Center integrate themselves to Ansp Network, Fapesp started to make an annual grant of its monetary value corresponding to 1% of its respective projects with technical reserve, for institutions to invest in connectivity the most convenient way for each one of them. It was approved and regulated in 2007.
In 2005, Ansp Network Team moved itself to a new office named Support Core to Academic Network (Núcleo de Apoio à Rede Acadêmica - Nara) and the equipments forming Ansp Network core, with its servers, were installed in NAP of Brazil, in Tamboré, Barueri (SP).