The collaboration protocol between Coimbra City Council (CM) and the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) was signed on June 20 in the Salão Nobre do Município de Coimbra. The document aims to strengthen the relationship between the two institutions to ensure the extension and increased resilience of the fiber optic networks of the two entities in the city of Coimbra.
The protocol was signed by the mayor of Coimbra, José Manuel Silva, and the president of the FCT, Madalena Alves. Also present were João Nuno Ferreira, General Coordinator of FCCN, the FCT's digital services, and Tiago Antunes, Network Engineer at the same organization.
Strengthening the connectivity of higher education institutions, services and municipal buildings in Coimbra
The document reinforces the connectivity of Coimbra's higher education institutions, services and municipal buildings and comes 20 years after the start of the relationship between the two bodies, namely through FCCN, FCT's digital services. In order to extend and increase the resilience of the FCT and Coimbra City Council networks, resources will be shared - fiber optic pairs.
"This close collaboration with the FCT, which I welcome and thank, will allow a significant and fundamental improvement in the functioning of our municipal services and buildings, which will now have a fiber optic network that is better able to match our fast pace of work," said the mayor of Coimbra, José Manuel Silva.
The president of the FCT, Madalena Alves, said: "This protocol reinforces the extremely fruitful collaboration between the FCT and the City Council, which has ensured that Coimbra remains at the forefront of digital communications, dedicated to Science, Technology and Higher Education."
The start of the link between the entities
The link between the two entities began in 2004, as part of a project by FCCN, FCT's digital services, where a 48-fiber optic cable was purchased and installed, connecting several cities from Braga to Lisbon, passing through Coimbra.
This project was extended through the creation of local network infrastructures that allowed fiber optic access between the various higher education institutions located in these cities.
In the case of Coimbra, a local network was built to give the University of Coimbra, the Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra and the Nursing School of Coimbra high-performance access to the digital infrastructure managed by the FCCN network, which is available to the national teaching and research communities.
