en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Ministry of Communications of Brazil (Ministério das Comunicações) published on the 30th in the Official Gazette of the Union (Diário Oficial da União) the final results of Bidding Notice No. 238/2026, aimed at expanding connectivity for Basic Health Units (UBS). This initiative will enable these units to expand the use of electronic medical records, conduct remote consultations, integrate health information systems, and provide faster medical services to the population.
This tender selected 30 companies to bring high-speed internet to 1,983 UBS across all regions of the country, with an investment of approximately R$45 million, funded by the Telecommunications Services Universalization Fund (Fust). The connection work is expected to be completed by June 2027. The winning companies' bids were, on average, 14.9% lower than the government's initial estimate.
The Northeast region concentrates the largest number of selected UBS, totaling 923; the Southeast region has 623; and the North, South, and Central-West regions will have 198, 141, and 98 UBS connected, respectively.
To support the preparation of the bidding documents, the Ministry of Health (Ministério da Saúde) conducted a survey of UBS nationwide that lack internet connection or have insufficient access, and determined the minimum technical specifications required to meet health service needs.
Minister of Communications Frederico de Siqueira Filho stated that providing connectivity to UBS means shortening distances, facilitating access to specialists through telemedicine, and ensuring that patient medical histories can be viewed on doctors' screens. Secretary of Health Information and Digital Health Ana Estela Haddad noted that expanding connectivity to nearly 2,000 UBS is an important step, enabling the Unified Health System (SUS) to reach those most in need using Fust resources.
This tender is the third under the Fust direct model and the first focused on the health sector. In 2024 and 2025, two tenders were issued to contract connectivity services for 17,000 public schools under the Escolas Conectadas (Connected Schools) program, which aims to install high-speed broadband and Wi-Fi networks in public educational units. Under the direct model, connections are implemented by telecommunications companies using their own funds, and selected companies can use up to 50% of their mandatory contributions to Fust to execute connection tasks in the chosen projects. Allocating resources to health units expands the fund's coverage and strengthens the infrastructure needed for telemedicine, electronic medical records, integrated systems, and other digital solutions of the SUS.
