Brazil's Algar reaches milestone with first commercial 5G launch

Brazilian operator Algar Telecom claims to be the country's first telco to have activated a commercial 5G network with spectrum licensed in the November auction.

Selected neighborhoods in the cities of Uberlândia and Uberaba (Minas Gerais state) and Franca (São Paulo state), gained access to the new technology via the 2.3GHz frequency on December 15, Algar said in a statement.

End-users with 5G-compatible cell phones will experience speeds much faster than provided by 4G networks, according to the company.

The amount of spectrum used will also allow many more users to connect to the same cell without loss of quality, with gains in power and capacity, said the telco.

Nokia and Huawei are the network suppliers for these first 5G rollouts, which comprise the deployment of 13 antennas in the three cities, a company spokesperson told BNamericas.

For this almost immediate launch to be possible, Algar said that it worked on network and infrastructure, namely on backhaul, network core and service platforms, ahead of the auction.

It was also helped by the fact that the 2.3GHz frequency – unlike, in many cases, the prime 3.5GHz one – does not require any spectrum cleaning.

The band was not occupied by any service prior to the auction and was ready for use as soon as it was released by regulator Anatel.

Algar Telecom won seven regional blocks in the auction: five in the 26GHz frequency, for which it paid 5.34mn reais (US$940,000), one in the 3.5GHz frequency, for 2.35mn reais, and one in 2.3GHz frequency, paying 57mn reais.

The bids totaled 64.7mn reais and the forms of payment, as well as other investment commitments assumed, will adhere to the rules established by Anatel, Algar said.

All blocks have a 20-year concession term and are in Algar Telecom's original operating area, which covers 87 municipalities in the states of Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul.

Algar also has 112,000km of fiber optics currently reaching 372 cities in 16 states in Brazil, in addition to Brasília’s federal district.