BRAZIL

On November 4 , the Federal Government held the opening ceremony of the 5G auction, promoted by the Ministry of Communications and the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel in Portuguese), with the participation of President Jair Bolsonaro. The main winners were Claro, Vivo and TIM.

The announcement had four lots to be auctioned. In the 3.5 GHz band, main of the auction, the operator Claro obtained lot B1 by offering a bid of R$ 338 million (US$ 61 million). Lot B2 was acquired by Vivo for R$ 420 million (US$ 75 million). Lot B3 remained with TIM, which will pay R$ 351 million (US$ 63 million). The notice also provided for a fourth lot in the 3.5 GHz band, but there was no bid.

In addition, the 700 MHz band was acquired by Winity II Telecom; and as for the 3.5 GHz band, for regional lots, the winners were: Brisanet (Northeast and Midwest), Sercomtel (North and State of São Paulo), Consortium 5G South (South Region), in addition to Cloud2U and Algar Telecom for other provinces.

The winning companies will invest in the expansion of fiber optic infrastructure in the Amazon region through six infovias that will connect six cities in the region, in the expansion of Internet signal coverage to 31,500 kilometers of federal highways, including towns where mobile Internet has not yet reached. 

Likewise, the bidding process, which could be extended until Friday, includes a parallel network for the exclusive use of the government, in which Chinese company Huawei’s equipment may not be used. Huawei was excluded by the terms of the tender in the midst of a geopolitical dispute due to accusations of espionage, especially by the United States.