RIO DE JANEIRO—Brazil’s 700 MHz auction is expected to take place during the first half of next year with the goal of providing enough spectrum bands for LTE expansion in the country, according to João Rezende, president of Brazil’s telecom regulatory agency, Anatel, and Genildo Lins de Albuquerque, the executive secretary of the ministry of communications (Minicom). Rezende and Albuquerque spoke at Futurecom, the largest ICT event in Latin America.
Brazil auctioned the 2.5 GHz spectrum band in June 2012, and the carriers that acquired licenses have begun to provide LTE commercial services. According to Anatel’s last report, the country had almost 400,000 LTE connections as of August.
Current discussions about the 700 MHz auction have focused on how to keep wireless telephony services from interfering with the analog television signal currently using the bandwidth. Recent studies showed that this conflict might occur in 700 municipalities across Brazil. “The government has to secure the expansion of the mobile broadband services throughout the country,” Rezende said. “This frequency band belongs to the government. No company will disappear or be compromised.”
Public consultation will begin to discuss possible solutions to the interference issue. Several debates have already occurred involving telecom operators and TV providers as well as government officials.
The 700 MHz spectrum band auction has been expected ever since carriers started advocating for LTE deployment in this band because it covers a broader range, optimizing investment.
In February, Minicom decided to allow the allocation of the 700 MHz spectrum band for LTE mobile broadband, publishing its decision in the official gazette (Diário Oficial). This meant that Anatel received a green light to open debate and begin studies on the use of 700 MHz for LTE deployment. Currently, the 700 MHz spectrum is allocated for analog television in Brazil.
