5G Committee predicts delays of up to two months in 15 capitals

The advisor of Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency) Moisés Moreira informed, this Friday (12), that there are chances of further delays in the implementation of 5G in the other 15 capitals.

5G already works in São Paulo (SP), Brasília (DF), Belo Horizonte (MG), Porto Alegre (RS) and João Pessoa (PB). Next Tuesday (16), the signal should be released in Curitiba (PR), Goiânia (GO) and Salvador (BA). The following week, Rio de Janeiro should also join this list.

Faced with the difficulties of implementing systems in other capitals, Moreira, who presides over Gaispi (the 5G Committee for the Implementation of Solutions for Interference Problems), will ask, next week, for authorization from Anatel’s board of directors to have autonomy in possible postponements in these cities.

They are: Recife (PE), Fortaleza (CE), Natal (RN), Aracaju (SE), Maceió (AL), Teresina (PI), São Luís (MA), Campo Grande (MS), Cuiabá (MT), Porto Velho (RO), Rio Branco (AC), Macapá (AP), Boa Vista (RR), Manaus (AM) and Belém (PA).

The request, according to Moreira, will provide for approval for postponements of up to two months, which will put the maximum period for deploying 5G in the 27 capitals to the end of November. According to the original plan, all should have the service implemented by the end of July.

“This does not mean, however, that these cities will not be able to enter 5G before this deadline,” Moreira told Sheet. “This will depend on the work of companies in each city. There is a lack of filters and this compromises progress.”

According to the adviser, without this prior approval, there would be a risk that operators would start operating in these cities without having mitigated the risks of interference. Teles need to complete the process of “cleaning” the 3.5 GHz band, the frequency chosen for 5G.

Frequencies are avenues in the air through which telecoms carry their signals. Outside of them, interference occurs.

Broadcasters and satellite companies operated on the frequency that became 5G — the 3.5 GHz (Gigahertz) band.

With the vacancy of the 3.5 GHz band, telecoms have to install filters on cell phone antennas and satellite dishes, equipment that captured the signals emitted in that frequency and that, from now on, will work in another band. This process has been called “cleaning” by the agency’s technicians.

Also according to Moreira, Vitória (ES), Florianópolis (SC) and Palmas (TO) should be the next to obtain approval for the fifth generation telephony due to the advance of the installation of filters.

Last week, Rio de Janeiro had 5G suspended after a report from Anatel’s technical area showed the impossibility of installing filters to avoid interference. Therefore, Gaispi gave companies more time.

Although work in Rio de Janeiro is advanced, there are TV stations, such as Globo and Record, with studios and heavy equipment in the city, which required more attention to avoid interference. Claro also has a building that operates satellites.

For the release of the signal by Anatel, companies need to undergo tests carried out by the agency’s technicians who, after this procedure, send a report to Gaispi.

If the results are positive, Moreira calls a meeting of the Gaispi, which gives approval for the start of the commercial operation. The next day, Anatel issues tickets for companies to pay fees and the service is provided the next day.

With prior approval, Gaispi now has the autonomy to decide on the implementation date in all capitals.

The 5G schedule suffered delays due to the lack of equipment coming from China, which decreed a lockdown because of a new wave of the pandemic.

The equipment coming from China are filters that avoid interference. Therefore, at first, the agency granted a deadline until the end of September for all capitals to have 5G antennas. Now, the deadline will be at the end of November.

The goal defined by Anatel for companies is one 5G antenna per 100,000 inhabitants per operator.