5G in Brazil: Claro announced launch of first commercial network in Brasília and São Paulo

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The week that ends with the festivities of December 24 will be remembered for the activation of the first commercial 5G networks in Brazil after Claro did so in Brasilia and São Paulo, in both cases on the 2.3 GHz band. However, its use plans or commercial conditions are not yet known.

These are launched in the 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) network, where the operator’s other frequencies operate since the service’s activation over the 3.5 GHz band is scheduled for June 30, 2022. It could even be postponed until August.

The news circulated in local media such as Jornal Valor Econômico and Teletime, where it is reported that, in the case of Brasília, for example, the first antennas activated are located in one of the central neighborhoods of the area, known as Asa Norte, and that the expansion will be imminent and gradual and will include others such as Asa Sul and the Commercial Sector.

The same is happening in the Itaim Bibi and Vila Nova Conceição regions of São Paulo, the first localities that will see the deployment of this new communication technology characterized by its high speed and minimum latency; and that in the coming months will also include Marginal Pinheiros, one of the most important highways in São Paulo.

Speaking to the local media, Paulo Cesar Teixeira, Claro’s general director of consumer and SMEs, defined the 2.3 GHz band as “a wildcard spectrum” and explained that its virtue lies in the fact that “it can be used for both 5G and 4.5G, has a high transmission capacity and adapts very well to the reality of capital cities”.

As stated by the operator, “5G-compatible smartphones measured speeds of 700 Mbps on the network, even without aggregation with 3.5 GHz spectrum.”

Claro is focused on 5G and is interested in entering this new era. It is the same operator that announced three weeks ago that it would make its commitment for the spectrum received in the November 4 auction in a single payment, and whose deadline for doing so is today.

In the 2.3 GHz frequency, the operator won a lot in the North Region for US$ 12 million (R$ 72 million); another in São Paulo for US$ 133 million (R$ 750 million); another in the Midwest for US$ 26 million (R$ 150 million) and another in the South for US$ 37 million (R$ 210 million), in addition to the one that integrated a hundred municipalities in four states for US$ 5.7 million (R$ 32 million).

In turn, in the 3.5 GHz frequency, Claro obtained a national lot of 80 MHz for US$ 60 million (R$ 338 million) and leftovers of the national lot of 20 MHz for US$ 14 million (R$ 80.338 million). Then, in the 26 GHz frequency, it did the same with a national lot for US$ 9.4 million (R$ 52.825 million).

Undoubtedly, these are the last hours of a year that was marked by the covid-19 pandemic, but also by the paradigm shift implied by the advent of 5G, either by the completion of the auction held with pomp in Brazil or by the progress made in various parts of the region, in addition to the discussions and warnings that came from other latitudes. And, as in any paradigm shift, no one is unaware of it.

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