"The BELLA-S project can be considered a success story," highlights the report published by the European Commission.
"A remarkable step forward, of which the European Commission and each partner can be proud." This is how the European Commission describes the BELLA-S project - the BELLA Program action line focused on the construction of the EllaLink submarine fiber optic cable, which created a direct link between Europe and Latin America.
The European Commission's evaluation was published at the end of March, through its Directorate-General for Network Communications, Content and Technology of the European Commission, which published a report with an overall assessment of the project. The document highlights the very positive impact of the initiative: "The project has achieved outstanding results with significant potential and immediate impact.
It is recalled that the construction of the EllaLink submarine cable began in 2019, with installation starting in December 2020 and ending on February 28, 2021. The connection between Europe and Latin America is made through Portuguese and Brazilian territory, with stations in Sines and Fortaleza. The 6,000-kilometer cable is now active, following the official inauguration in June 2021.
The European Commission report highlights BELLA-S as a "very ambitious and strategically important" project that has achieved its goal of "meeting the long-term high-capacity interconnectivity needs of European and South American education and research networks.
The European Commission document also leaves a set of recommendations for the future, namely the creation of new use cases, the launch of a publication on the project's construction, or the strengthening of political and institutional relations between Europe and Latin America.
