RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The demand for 5G solutions for the most diverse areas of the economy has the potential to generate R$101 billion (US$22 billion) over the next decade for companies and startups from or installed in Brazil, says a study presented on April 19 by the Ministry of Economy.
The study also calculates that the potential benefit of 5G deployment for the Brazilian economy may reach R$590 billion over the next decade. The bill considers productivity increases and cost reductions from the so-called Industry 4.0.
5G is the fifth generation of mobile and internet networks, whose speed is hundreds of times faster than the current fourth generation. With its implementation, countless possibilities are expected to open up in artificial intelligence, data processing, augmented reality, and logistics, among others.
“The new technology will serve as leverage for various sectors,” said Daniella Marques, secretary of Productivity and Competitiveness at the Ministry of Economy, when presenting the projections.
The report with the projection for the software and applications market was produced by consulting firm Deloitte, with the participation of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
“We came out behind the developed countries, but we observed that we have good perspectives to advance 5G quickly, especially in software and application development,” said Maria Ogawa, partner and head of Technology, Media, and Telecommunications at Deloitte Brazil.
The document contains 96 public policy recommendations on eight action fronts so that these potentials for wealth generation are achieved, besides presenting the challenges for this to happen.
On the tax support side, for example, the report recommends the creation of special economic zones focused on 5G technology, tax waivers for the purchase of equipment to emulate 5G networks, and the offer of tax benefits for multinationals to set up strategic operations in the country, transmitting technology.
Among the main problems highlighted in the report are the low availability of resources to foster the national ecosystem around 5G, the lack of skilled labor (programmers and developers), and insufficient environments that emulate 5G and allow the testing of solutions.
“We are talking about a capital-intensive industry, and obviously, all this investment is not cheap,” said Alberto Boaventura, Senior Strategy Manager at Deloitte Brazil and one of those responsible for the report. “There is a need to be breaking down these barriers for financial and tax support,” he added.
With information from Agência do Brasil