Brazil logistics corridors: The next target for Nokia’s private networks

In addition to ongoing projects with mining and power firms, Finnish wireless equipment provider Nokia is deploying private wireless networks in Brazil's export-based logistics corridors.

As the logistics industry evolves towards massive industrial IoT and low latency applications, it will require private wireless networks using 4G or 5G spectrum.

“We are working strongly in the logistics corridors and we should have something [to announce] soon. They are railroads and, perhaps in the not too distant future, highways and export corridors,” the company’s head of solutions for LatAm, Wilson Cardoso, told a press conference.

As an example, Cardoso cited ConectarAgro, a consortium headed by Nokia with TIM, other providers and agro companies, to bring connectivity to the agriculture sector. The initiative, which was announced last year, has more than 5mn hectares covered.

"It's not really a private network, but there is a private investment supported by an operator to make networks feasible where there is no major economic attractiveness," he said.

Of all the private network projects in which Nokia is involved in Latin America, at least three are public: with mining companies Vale, in Brazil, and Las Bambas, in Peru, and with Brazilian power distributor Neoenergia. In all the cases, the mobile network is Telefónica's.

Nokia reports having deployed over 140 private wireless networks for enterprise customers worldwide, including global logistics firms. The company claims to be “the leader in providing these next-generation connectivity solutions to industry.”

5G SATELLITE INTERFERENCE

The tests of solutions to avoid interference between satellite and 5G services in the 3.5GHz band were resumed this week, said Cardoso.

They had been halted because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which postponed the launch of 5G tender terms and the tender itself. 

The tests are carried out together with Claro in Rio de Janeiro.

Nokia is also testing in the northeast of Brazil with an internet service provider (ISP), said Cardoso. According to the executive, the preliminary conclusions of this assessment is that interference mitigation conditions "exist and are applicable."

"As soon as the tests are completed, we will share them with [sector regulator] Anatel and society."

5G AUCTION

Regarding the 5G auction in Brazil, Cardoso said the country should look to Chile, which recently announced the terms for its tender of 5G-specific bands. 

The Chilean authorities will receive bids from October 13-19 and they will be opened on October 20.

In Chile's case, there is a 'beauty contest' format where bids will be ranked based on a combination of factors such as price, maximum committed coverage, and technical requirements.

The ideal scenario for Brazil’s auction is that it would be focused solely on investment pledges from companies and not on the government seeking to generate revenues from the auction, according to Cardoso.

The great potential of 5G is in the connection of machines, not in higher speeds for mobile end-users, Cardoso said. The supplier's bet is also on fixed wireless access (FWA), or the use of 5G as the last-mile connectivity to the customer, of fiber optic networks.

URUGUAY

Nokia was involved in the first 5G network project in Latin America, a limited launch last year by Uruguayan state operator Antel. The model was FWA.

Speeds in that network vary from 400Mbps up to 1Gbps, according to Cardoso.

The frequency being used by Antel is 28 GHz, a millimeterWave band with greater transmission capacity but less horizontal range than lower bands, he said.

HUAWEI

Nokia prefer not to get directly involved in the controversial issue surrounding its Chinese rival Huawei. 

Huawei has become key part of the geopolitical struggle between the US and China, and the Brazilian government has not yet decided if the firm will be allowed to participate in the country’s 5G development.

The banning or not of the rival's technology is a "state issue," according to Cardoso. 

"This decision will be made by the Brazilian state based on the studies that are being conducted by the different ministries," he said.

Countries that have placed a ban on "some high-risk providers" continue to implement their 5G networks and add millions of users without "any technological impact", said Cardoso, who cited the US and South Korea as examples.

“What we see is that the industry is handling it. There is no technological gap between Western manufacturers and those from China.”