Countries around the world are returning to deployment off 5G network, following increasing covid vaccine administration. On Thursday, Brazil opened an international tender to build one of the world’s biggest 5G data networks, seeking $9 billion in investment, AFP reports.
President Jair Bolsonaro opened the tender in Brasilia, calling it a “historic” moment, with 15 companies in line for the bidding expected to end on Friday.
Brazil’s 5G roll out has been embroiled in a US- China spat that has put Huawei’s leadership of global 5G deployment in jeopardy. Washington has been pressing its allies to sever ties with the Chinese telecom vendor over national security concerns.
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But as noted by AFP, the world’s two largest economies are also Brazil’s two largest trading partners, and the country has been under pressure from both sides over the ground rules for its 5G network, leading it to postpone the tender from an initially scheduled time-slot of early 2021.
Now, Latin America’s largest economy appears to have made up its mind on what path to follow. The Bidding will exclude all equipment from Chinese telecoms giant Huawei.
Brazil is looking to leverage the $9 billion investment to accelerate the development of other sectors of its economy, including the agricultural industry. The pandemic-induced shift to digital life has also triggered a bigger need for fast internet. And with its booming market of 213 million people, the South American country is also looking to leverage the 5G network to provide faster internet for its digital market.
From internet-connected tractors and crop-monitoring drones for the booming agricultural sector to self-driving cars and telemedicine, Brazil hopes that the 5G network will help fill its infrastructure gaps.
“Consumers won’t see that much difference, aside from faster download times for movies and videos. But from the standpoint of industry, this is going to open up a whole new reality for factories, agribusiness, the productive sector,” said Marcos Ferrari of Conexis Brasil Digital, a group representing five of the bidding firms.
The government is seeking total investments of 50 billion reais ($9 billion): 40 billion reais to build the 5G network — one of Latin America’s first — and 10 billion reais that it will pocket for frequency rights and use to boost connectivity for public schools, per AFP.
The tender is for the right to build and operate four “blocks” of the frequency spectrum for 20 years, as well as a separate network reserved for government communications, the report added.
The bidding has attracted a host of big companies with existing operations in Brazil, including Telecom Italia’s local subsidiary, Tim; Spanish group Telefonica’s Brazilian unit; and Claro, owned by Mexican telecom magnate Carlos Slim’s America Movil.
“It is one of the largest 5G tenders in the world. The potential is enormous,” industry specialist Christian Perrone of the Technology and Society Institute in Rio de Janeiro told AFP.
Around the world, some countries are already using the 5G network despite the pandemic setback, and it thus puts pressure on others, especially developing countries with big markets, to put the 5G infrastructure in place.
5G technology requires four to 10 times as many antennas as 4G. The bidding terms require winning companies to roll out service in Brasilia and the 26 state capitals by August 2022, while other cities of more than 30,000 people can expect service between 2025 and 2028.
National statistics institute IBGE said in 2019 that around 40 million people in Brazil still lack internet access. This means that the 5G network will enhance the opportunity for the country’s unserved to receive internet.