As of today (4), the city of São Paulo will have 5G telephony signal. According to the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), the activation of the signal occurred due to the expressive number of requests for the installation of 5G antennas, which exceeded what was foreseen in the public notice that authorized the use of the new technology.
According to the rules of the public notice, in this first phase, at least 462 stations would be needed until September 29. It so happens that, until last Tuesday (2), the regulatory agency had already received 1,378 licensing requests in the 3.5 GHz band. The number corresponds to almost triple the number of antennas that should be installed in the city by the end of the year.
Therefore, the Monitoring Group for the Implementation of Solutions for Interference Problems (Gaispi), linked to Anatel and responsible for activating the signal, decided to release the 5G in the capital of São Paulo.
According to the group, the antennas make it possible to anticipate the so-called cleaning of the spectrum in the 3.5 Gigahertz (GHz) band for the operation of pure 5G, the standalone [independente]. Gaispi’s assessment is that, as the orders exceeded the amount foreseen in the public notice, there will be no interference problems with the satellite dish signal, also in the 3.5GHz band.
Urban area
The estimate is that 5G signal coverage should initially reach 25% of the urban area of São Paulo.
“The greatest concentration of antennas is in the Historic Center, in the region of Avenida Paulista and Itaim Bibi. The neighborhoods of Aclimação, Mooca and Brás, for example, will have lower coverage at the beginning of the process”, informed Anatel.
The agency also informed that equipment was installed to prevent interference at 226 Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) stations and tests were carried out to confirm interference-free operation.
5G speed can be up to 20 times faster than 4G. The activation of technology in São Paulo occurs after its arrival in cities Brasília, Belo Horizonte, João Pessoa and Porto Alegre.
Notice
Initially, the 5G auction notice provided that the infrastructure necessary for the activation of the signal should take place by July 31 in all capitals, but Gaispi himself asked Anatel to extend the deadline by 60 days in order to circumvent logistical problems that delayed delivery of equipment imported from China.
According to the rules of the public notice, the mobile operators that participated in the event have until September 29 to comply with the first requirement of at least one 5G technology antenna for every 100,000 inhabitants in Brazilian capitals. The densification of 5G coverage at 3.5 GHz in the capitals should be completed by July 2025, and the new technology should be present in all municipalities by 2029.
Last week, Law 14.424/2022 was enacted which authorizes telephone operators to install telecommunications infrastructure in urban areas, in case the competent body does not manifest itself on the request within 60 days. Known as positive silence, the authorization should facilitate the deployment of 5G internet antennas in Brazil.
interference
To circumvent possible interference caused to people who use satellite dishes of the so-called Band C, the Band Administrator Entity (EAF) of Anatel created a program to distribute, free of charge, to needy families in Brazilian capitals registered in the Single Registry for Social Programs from the federal government, kits containing new digital antennas, converters and cables. Ordering the kit and installing the devices can be done through the site of the Kit Distribution Program, created by EFA.
