Tech roundup: 5G turns one in Brazil with goals met

Photo: Rafapress/Shutterstock

Welcome to our Tech Roundup, where we bring you the biggest stories in technology and innovation in Brazil and Latin America. This week: 5G coverage is progressing at a rapid pace, but it is far from helping close the country’s digital divide.

5G turns one in Brazil with goals met but access challenges ahead

5G completed its first year in Brazil last Thursday, with coverage in 184 cities and 10.1 million users — the previous generation of mobile technology, 4G, took 26 months to reach the same milestone.

State of play. According to Anatel’s plans, the 5G network was to be installed in all 27 state capitals by September 2022, in all cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants by July 2025, and in all cities with more than 200,000 people by mid-2026. However, telecom operators have moved even faster than that.

In addition to the state capitals, the new technology already serves all cities with more than half a million people and at least half of the municipalities with more than 200,000 inhabitants.

Yes, but. Local governments have yet to cut through the regulatory red tape, as 5G requires up to ten times more antennas than 4G. Operators were only able to speed up their installation plans because they started using existing structures through DSS (dynamic spectrum sharing) technology, sharing the 2.3 GHz frequency of 4G with 5G.

According to Conexis, the association representing carriers, 78 of the 155 cities with...

Fabiane Ziolla Menezes

Former editor-in-chief of LABS (Latin America Business Stories), Fabiane has more than 15 years of experience reporting on business, finance, innovation, and cities in Brazil. The latter recently took her back to the classroom and made her a Master in Urban Management from PUCPR. At TBR, she keeps an eye on economic policy, game-changing businesses, and people driving innovation in Latin America.