On September 3, two new GPS and GLONASS satellite tracking stations of continuous operation, of the Brazilian Network for Continuous Monitoring (RBMC), came on stream in the state of Amazonas. Implemented with the cooperation of the Amazonas State University (UEA), in its campi located in the municipalities of Manaus and Itacoatiara, the network accounts for 123 stations in the Brazilian territory. Further information on the RBMC can be found here.

The information provided by the network is the basis for the geodetic coordinates (latitude, longitude, ellipsoidal height - the latter being relative to the geometric model representing the Earth's shape) with high precision (of a few millimeters). It is applied to projects, constructions and monitoring of great works of engineering, such as roads, bridges and dams, to the demarcation of environmental protection areas, of indigenous lands and rural properties. The data collected by the stations are freely downloaded by the IBGE portal users in the Internet, surpassing 100,000 observation file downloads each month.

In operation since 1996, the RBMC was the first network of its kind implemented in South America. Today, it represents the most accurate geodetic structure of three-dimensional reference and a connecting link with the continental geodetic structure of the Geocentric Reference System for the Americas (SIRGAS). The implementation, maintenance and operation of the network are conducted by the IBGE, with the support of dozens of public institutions all over the country, among which are the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA) and the National Institute for Space Research (INPE).