On April 12, the Brazilian National Telecom Agency Anatel approved bidding documents for the frequency bands 2.5 GHz (to be destined for fourth generation mobile telephony and LTE) and 450 MHz (to be dedicated for improving coverage in rural areas). Anatel said the auction is expected to happen in early June. (Read the full document here – in Portuguese)
In a statement, the agency’s president, João Rezende, said the auction rules encourage participation of stakeholders, and he noted that “certainly the result of the tender will be positive for the country.”
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According to the tender documents, the bands dedicated to improving coverage in rural areas will be offered first. The selection criteria for the winning proposal for the 450 MHz band will focus on what brings the lowest price for consumers. If there are no proposals or if the proposals are unsatisfactory, the 450 MHz band will be offered along with portions of the 2.5 GHz band. In this case, the winners will be those that present the highest bids.
The auction is part of the agency’s efforts to free frequency bands for voice and data traffic, with the goal of improving the telecommunications infrastructure in the face of growing service demand and projected needs for major international events.
Among Anatel’s auction goals are: immediate coverage of municipalities where the 2013 Confederations Cup and 2014 Fifa World Cup will take place; commitment to coverage that prioritizes major construction network infrastructure; and the encouragement of competition in operating services with the participation of small, medium and large companies.
The tender proposal has been under public consultation since January, and the agency said it received 211 responses. The main changes after the public consultation were that the sub-bands “U” and “P” became regional instead of national; the sub-band “V” was divided into two segments of 10 MHz plus 10 MHz; and the sub-band “T” will go to bid with the “U” in municipalities not intended for SLP (private limited system), if the current Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service (MMDS) provider waives this subrange.
The sequence for the bidding was kept, and the number of lots was expanded.
Commitments
Anatel unveiled the coverage obligations for each telecom operator on the 2.5 GHz: by April 2013, to cover all offices of the Confederations Cup; by December 2013, to cover the branches and sub-offices of the 2014 World Cup; by May 2014, to cover all state capitals and cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants; by December 2015, to cover all municipalities with more than 200,000 inhabitants; by December 2016, to cover all municipalities with more than 100,000; and by December 2017, all municipalities with 30,000 to 100,000 people.
In addition, there must be at least one provider of 2.5 GHz and service offerings that are equivalent to 3G technology in all municipalities. For municipalities with less than 30,000 inhabitants not covered by mobile broadband, Anatel said that at least 30% will need to be covered by December 2017, increasing to 60% by December 2018 and 100% by December 2019.
For commitments tied to supplying 2.5 GHz in 450 MHz, which are under construction and available for industrial exploitation (EILD Standard), Anatel said that this coverage will have to be provided for 30% of municipalities by March 2014, 60% of the municipalities by September 2014, and 100% by September 2015.
Regarding commitments for the 450 MHz, Anatel stated that 30% of the cities need to have coverage by June 2014, increasing to 60% by December 2014 and 100% by December 2015.
National products
The Brazilian agency has also determined the national technology percentages for the procurement of goods, products, equipment and systems for telecommunication and data networks. According to the bidding document, the percentage for the acquisition of goods and products with national technology will be 60% from 2012 to 2014, 65% from 2015-2016, and 70% from 2017 to 2022.
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