5G makes debut in Brazil, roll-out kicks off in Brasília

Next in line are Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, and São Paulo

Published on 06/07/2022 - 11:18 By Wellton Máximo - Brasília

5G signal is being launched in Brazil this Wednesday (Jul 5). The first city to offer the signal without interference from other frequencies will be capital Brasília.

The clean signal will operate in the 3.5 GHz band, which is partly taken by old satellite dishes with analog signals in Band C. Brasília was selected precisely because of its fewer satellite dishes.

Clean 5G offers an average speed of 1 Gigabit (Gbps)—ten times faster than the 4G signal, and may reach up to 20 Gbps. The signal has lower latency in data transmission, and a 5GB file can be downloaded in about 40 seconds.

The technology will pave the way for the introduction of the internet of things, which keep objects and devices connected to each other and online. The move is expected to boost industrial production and bring about innovations such as remote surgeries and driverless cars.

TIM will be the first operator to offer the clean 5G signal in Brasília. At first, 100 antennas will be installed to serve 40 to 50 percent of the people in Brazil’s Federal District. In the next two months, 64 more antennas will become operational, raising the coverage to 65 percent of the population.

Moisés Moreira, deputy head at the country’s telecom agency ANATEL, says the next cities to receive the clean 5G signal will be Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, and São Paulo, but no dates have been disclosed. Early in June, the body stipulated that all capitals should have the technology by September 29.

Originally, all 27 state capitals should be served by 5G until July 31. However, shortage issues with 5G SIMs and delays in the production and import of electronic equipment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the schedule back by two months.

Translation: Fabrício Ferreira -  Edition: Graça Adjuto

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