Auction of 5G telecoms could take place in Brazil by mid-October, says Minister Faria

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Wednesday, August 18, the Federal Audit Board (TCU) did not complete its vote on the public bid notice for 5G, as one of the board members, Aroldo Cedraz, requested an pause to consider his vote.

However, a majority of the TCU board already has issued a positive opinion on the proposal and decided to set a deadline of one week for the return of the 5G tender to the voting agenda.

Setting a date for the auction will be discussed again in the TCU next week. The ruling has yet to be made public, which can’t happen until Cedraz introduces his  vote and submits it to his colleagues for consideration. Even if they have already stated their positions, they could theoretically change and support any adjustments proposed by Cedraz.

“I want to congratulate the TCU board members who understood how important the issue is for Brazil, beyond the political issue, because 5G will serve Brazil for the next 15 years, so it’s not a partisan issue. It’s an issue that affects all Brazilians,” Communications Minister Faria said.

“It’s a new Brazil that we will have after the 5G auction. There will be practically R$40 (US$7.5) billion invested in telecommunications to reduce and eliminate the digital desert we have in the country. There are 40 million Brazilians who do not have Internet.”

The minister said Anatel could already start making the adjustments proposed by the rapporteur. “The one that gives legal certainty to the bidders is the TCU. Of course, we waited, but one of the ministers, Bruno Dantas, said at the time that regardless of the deadline, Anatel could speed up the public announcement while the decision was pending,” the communications minister said.

He denied putting pressure on the board to approve the announcement of the 5G auction. “I have great respect for the board members, and I have said that I will not comment until after they have voted,” he said.

Faria defended the investment commitments proposed by the government – the private system, which will be used exclusively for the government communications, and the Amazon Integrated and Sustainable Program (PAIS), which provides access in isolated regions of the North region and will allow the connection of tens of millions more people..

The TCU rapporteur did not address the proposal of the technical area to exclude these additional commitments, which technicians consider illegal because they represent a breach of the expenditure ceiling.