Brazil will launch 5G network despite political challenges

The deployment of the 5G network in Brazil has been facing political challenges. Like many countries in the world, Brazil has been dealing with pressure from the US over Huawei’s role in implementing the 5G network. However, these political challenges will not stop Brazil from securing its position in the high-speed internet market.

Brazilian Telecom operators TIM Brasil and Telefonica Brasil have announced the locations in which they will debut the deployment of 5G networks. In September 2020, TIM is expected to launch 5G networks in three cities in different regions using equipment from Huawei, Ericsson, and Nokia. On the other hand, Vivo (Telefonica Brasil) aims to launch a 5G network across eight state capitals by the end of July 2020. Both TIM and VIVO will be using Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) technology, which will allow them to deliver 4G and 5G services via a single frequency band, according to Developing Telecoms.

Back to July 14, 2020, Claro Brasil announced the implementation of Brazil’s first commercial 5G network in Sao Paulo and Rio De Janeiro.

Telecom Italia (TIM) already decided to pull out Huawei from its network in Italia and Brazil. Recently, the US started a discussion with Brazil aiming to finance Ericsson and Nokia 5G networks, said Todd Chapman, US ambassador to Brazil during an interview with Folha de S. Paulo. This move comes as part of the US advocacy campaign aiming to remove Huawei from the global 5G market.

Wilson Cardoso, Nokia’s CTO in Latin America, said that Brazil would host the world’s biggest-ever single auction for the 5G spectrum, according to Reuters. Moreover, Ericsson announced plans to invest $238.3 million to install a new assembly line for 5G in Brazil, according to the same source.

Auctions to award 5G spectrum – set to take place in March 2020 – were delayed due to Covid-19. Brazilian telecommunications regulator (Anatel) was expecting to hold auction by the end of 2020 or in the first months of next year. Anatel is offering four licenses with 700 MHz, 2300 to 2350 MHz, 3300 to 3700 MHz, and 24.3 to 27.5 GHz bands. In addition to this, the agency is looking to collect R$20 billion during the auction.

According to the Verdict.UK, commercial 5G is expected to be launched by 2022 in Brazil. A 5G subscription share would account for 4.1% by 2024.