PARÁ, Brazil – Today, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency awarded a grant to the Empresa de Processamento de Dados do Estado do Pará (PRODEPA), the State of Pará’s information technology (IT) company.  The grant will support PRODEPA to develop a roadmap and an implementation plan to expand Pará’s fiber and wireless broadband network, allowing further connectivity and e-government services throughout the state. 

The technical assistance will identify best practices for delivering data transmission solutions under the Amazon’s challenging conditions of dense tropical forests and uneven terrain divided by major rivers. The project will provide recommendations for creating free broadband access through public telecenters and schools.  The grant was signed by U.S. Consul General to Recife, Richard Reiter, and PRODEPA President-Director, Theo Pires, in Pará’s capital city of Belém.  

“We are very pleased to be supporting PRODEPA in its efforts to further expand broadband connectivity throughout the state.  The agreement proves how our countries can partner together to advance mutually beneficial projects,” said Consul General Reiter.

“This project builds upon the U.S.-Brazil Information Communication Technology Partnership, and complements our efforts to advance critical infrastructure projects that generate sustainable development and market opportunities in USTDA partner countries,” said USTDA Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean Nathan Younge.

The opportunity to conduct the USTDA-funded technical assistance will be competed on the U.S. Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website.  A link to the FBO announcement will be posted to USTDA’s website at www.ustda.gov.  Interested U.S. firms should submit proposals according to the instructions in the FBO announcement.