The Brazilian capitals of Rio, Florianópolis, Vitória and Palmas will receive a 5G signal on Monday

The cities of Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Florianópolis (SC), Vitória (ES) and Palmas (TO) will receive the pure (autonomous) 5G network on Monday 22.

This will bring the number of capitals with 5G in the country to 12. The remaining 15 capitals are expected to receive the signal by November, although no date has been set yet.

Initially, the 5G signal has reached only a few urban areas, as the auction notice stipulated that operators should install one antenna per 100,000 residents at this time.

The chairman of Anatel’s technical group responsible for the rollout of the new technology, Moises Moreira, indicated that more antennas per inhabitant would be required over time.

The Anatel representative believes that cities will have full coverage much sooner than foreseen in the public notice, up to 4 years.

This is because operators are already requesting more antennas than they initially needed.

In Rio de Janeiro, nearly 290% more antenna licenses have been requested than the required minimum. In Vitória, applications to install antennas are 190% higher than the minimum in the public notice.

On August 16, the Brazilian 5G mobile network was launched in Curitiba (Paraná), Goiânia (Goiás) and Salvador (Bahia). The decision to activate the 5G signal was made on August 15  by the Group for Monitoring the Implementation of Solutions to Interference Problems (Gaispi), which is linked to the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) and is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the new technology.

Originally, the technology was to be available by the end of September in Recife, Fortaleza, Natal, Aracaju, Maceió, Teresina, São Luís, Campo Grande, Cuiabá, Porto Velho, Rio Branco, Macapá, Boa Vista, Manaus and Belém.

Anatel’s group, responsible for the technology rollout, decided to extend the deadline. Anatel’s consultant, Moisés Moreira, explains that the imported equipment will avoid interference with satellite services.

The forecast is that 5G will be available in these 15 capitals by November 27. According to Anatel, the signal could be available earlier. Everything depends on the arrival and installation of the necessary equipment.

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