Without infrastructure, 5G can increase inequality of access to public service, say experts

The merchant Claudiane dos Reis Oliveira, 32, anxiously awaits the improvement in the telephone and internet system with the arrival of 5G. She and her husband own a pharmacy in the Marsilac region, in the extreme south of São Paulo. The neighborhood has one of the worst internet signals in the city, according to mapping by Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency).

“Until recently, there was nothing. An operator arrived and started offering the service. But there are days when there is no signal. We have distant customers, who, sometimes, are unable to get in touch so that we can deliver”, says Claudiane , who cites other obstacles caused by the lack of adequate internet.

“I opened an account at a bank and the manager called saying that he had sent the activation code by SMS, but who says that code arrived? I had to go in person to activate it, because I couldn’t use my cell phone, due to lack of signal.”

But Claudiane’s hope comes up against the lack of investment in infrastructure, an essential issue for the new technology to drive public policies in the country.

The expectation is that in the medium and long term, citizens will begin to feel the effects of the new technology, which go beyond public services. Telemedicine, industry 4.0 and the internet of things (the connection of physical objects capable of transmitting data) are expected to see significant improvements.

Marcelo Zuffo, professor at the Department of Electronic Systems Engineering at the Escola Politécnica da USP, draws a parallel with social infrastructures, such as public lighting or basic sanitation: to be satisfactory, they need to benefit the population as a whole.

“It’s no use having 5G only in downtown São Paulo and continuing to promote this process of exclusion.”

The City of São Paulo recognizes the lack of internet in the Marsilac region and says that the district is among the 28 priorities for the installation of new antennas.

The municipal administration states that it “signed a term of adhesion with the operators”, in March, in which they commit to installing 286 Erbs (Radio-Base Stations) in areas further away from the south, north and east of the capital.

In January of this year, the City Hall of São Paulo sanctioned the so-called Law of Antennas. It establishes rules for the deployment of telecommunication antennas, with the aim of simplifying licensing and expanding the internet signal in the municipality. According to Anatel, São Paulo has 4,592 active antennas.

5G antennas in São Paulo should be double, says researcher

For Zuffo, this amount is far from what the municipality needs. “São Paulo, which is supposedly the largest digital city in Latin America, is one of the worst in the infrastructure ranking. It should have twice as many towers as it has. Apparently, the licensing process in the city of São Paulo is very complex, let’s go see if the new antenna law improves.”

Arthur Barrionuevo, a professor specializing in telecommunications at FGV EAESP, also sees the structure of mobile telephony as a bottleneck for the implementation of 5G. “The connection between the antennas is made by cable, fiber optics. This is available, but a lot of [estrutura física e tecnológica] will have to be improved to support 5G, which transmits much more data than today.”

The new technology will also come at a cost to the citizen. The improvements will start to be felt from the moment the devices are changed.

“It will facilitate interaction as 5G expands. Every service that city halls and states provide to citizens will generate a better experience between the two poles. Interaction between government and citizens will become easier”, says Barrionuevo.

“But first it is necessary to have a lot of people who are connected to 5G. In large centers this will happen at a faster speed”, completes the professor.

According to Ronaldo Lemos, director of the Rio de Janeiro Institute of Technology and Society and columnist for Sheet5G will only have a significant impact if it arrives in the so-called standalone format, which is pure 5G, with very low latency —shortest interval between live and broadcast — and high transmission capacity.

“It’s not that 5G will arrive overnight and automatically everything will be revolutionized. First, we need to make sure that it arrives in the right way and that we are prepared from the point of view of the State, civil society and the private sector, to take advantage of the applications that are possible in this true 5G. If that happens, then it will have an impact on industrial production, city infrastructure, telemedicine and several other areas where it shows its potential”, says Ronaldo.

Pandemic made digital public services skyrocket

During the pandemic, there was an expansion of digitized public services, forced by the need caused by social isolation. According to a survey by the Regional Center for Studies for the Development of the Information Society, 76% of federal organizations offer digital public services.

The federal government’s gov.br platform currently offers more than 4,000 digitized services. Compared to 2019, the year before the pandemic, there was a 127% jump.

In the case of city halls, there has also been growth in recent years, but the offer of services varies according to the size of the city. Issuing documents, such as licenses, permits and certificates, for example, can be done through websites in 92% of city halls in cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants. This number drops to 51% in those with up to 10,000 inhabitants.

“Brazil is experiencing a brutal process of digital transformation during the pandemic. Today it is common sense that Brazilian society cannot live without broadband mobile telephony”, says Zuffo, who is already developing projects related to the internet of things at USP. in new technology, such as those aimed at urban security and forest monitoring.