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5G auction includes four frequency bands and will be the largest in BrazilJune 04, 2019

The board of the Brazilian regulator, Anatel, has received the draft proposal for the 5G auction in Brazil, which is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2020. The President of the agency, Leonardo de Morais, highlights that it will by far be the largest spectrum auction ever in the country, a direct result of the digital revolution generated by the new technological generation.

 

"The next RFP will be the largest in the agency's history and will involve the 700 MHz, 2.3 GHz, 2.5 GHz and 26 GHz frequency bands. I hope this proposal will be directed to one of the counselors next week and then continue to public consultation. The importance of these spectrum assets is that, the greater the availability, the lower the cost of delivering that capacity”, Morais said when opening the second day of discussions of the Telebrasil 2019 Panel on Wednesday, May 22nd.

 

He explained that the proposed setup includes the 10 + 10 MHz that still remain in the 700 MHz band, which will keep the spectrum limit rule to "avoid concentration in the band". But it is also anticipated that if there is no winner in the first round of bids, the next will open the possibility of companies that already hold gaps of this radio frequency - that is, the winners of the 2014 auction - in lots of 5 + 5 MHz.

 

In the 2.3 GHz band, the draft that the technical department prepared, which will be evaluated by the counselors, foresees an offer of 90 MHz, with a reservation of another 10 MHz for the private limited service. The idea is to offer a national batch of 50 MHz and regional bundles - almost States - of 40 MHz.

 

In the 3.5 GHz band, there will be an offer of 300 MHz which has three 80-MHz blocks and one 60-MHz block. If all are not acquired in the first round, a second one will divide the 60 MHz block into three 20 MHz blocks, allowing each winner to zero in on up to 100 MHz.

 

And finally, in the 26 GHz band, it's 3,200 MHz divided into eight blocks of 800-MHz. If not all are acquired in the first round of bids, the remainder will be divided into smaller batches of 200 MHz. In that case, there will be a cap of 1 GHz per company.

 

Interview with the President of Anatel, Leonardo de Morais, here (in Portuguese):

 

Source: Abranet