5G in Belo Horizonte has a faster connection, but coverage disappoints

In the first week of 5G operation in Belo Horizonte, customers who expected a ‘future’ connection noticed an increase in speed, but were disappointed with the signal instability and the restriction in the coverage area.

Another difficulty was knowing if, in fact, they were browsing with a pure 5G connection or not. Before the release of the signal in Belo Horizonte, last Friday (29), some cell phones already showed the 5G icon. The version available previously was 5G DSS (Dynamic Spectrum Sharing), which is considered impure, as it operates on the same frequency as 4G.

After the release of pure 5G, called standalone, some users reported not knowing when the cell phone is connected to the new frequency, which promises an increase in speed.

Entrepreneur Pedro Villasboas said that the only region of the city where he was able to carry out speed tests that indicated the use of pure 5G was in Savassi, in the center-south of the city. In other neighborhoods, he stated that, even with the 5G icon on the screen, the connection was unstable and low speed.

“Sometimes 5G appears on the device, but when you click to do a test, or do something that will require more bandwidth, it cuts you off. It leaves 5G and goes to 3G, before resuming 4G. something of the change in technology”, says the businessman.

Still, according to him, even with the use of impure 5G in recent months, he was already able to achieve a satisfactory speed for doing work tasks and video conferences.

Nurse Leonardo Godoy also said he did not know when the cell phone was using the pure or impure connection. Still, he noticed an increase in internet speed for using basic tasks.

“In the region where I work, near Nova Lima, 5G is still not available, only 4G. Where I live, in Lourdes, the signal arrived. So, I was able to compare well. And I see a big difference in the quality of the internet . The speed is much higher in my apartment with 5G, than in the hospital area, with 4G”, says .

Vivo informed that the 5G service is now available to all company customers who have a compatible cell phone and are in the coverage areas. However, it did not specify which regions of the city already have the operator’s 5G.

TIM stated that the start of operations with 5G technology in the capital of Minas Gerais has twice as many antennas than the minimum required by Anatel (the sector’s regulatory agency) for operation. The signal is available in 56 neighborhoods, with the expectation of expanding to 70 neighborhoods in all regions of the city.

The two operators said that customers do not need to change SIM cards or plans to use the 5G network.

Claro was also contacted, but did not respond to questions about the operation of 5G in the capital of Minas Gerais until the publication of this report.