Opinion – Panel SA: For future 5G operator in the Northeast, scarcity of resources promotes innovation

Telecommunications operator Brisanet, which surprised by presenting aggressive bids in the 5G auction and will be responsible for the implementation of the new mobile network in the Northeast and Midwest regions, is now rushing to convince investors that it made the right bet.

An internet, cable TV and telephone provider with a 14,400-kilometer fiber optic network in seven states in the Northeast, it will have to invest over R$1.5 billion in the coming years to deploy 5G in the two conquered regions. at the November auction.

José Roberto Nogueira, founder and president of the company, says that the market does not lose out by waiting. Born in the interior of Ceará, he started from scratch and entered the Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires after taking Brisanet public on the stock exchange, in July of this year. His fortune is estimated at R$4.8 billion.

What does the entry into 5G represent for Brisanet?We realized ten years ago that fiber optic networks would be important for the future of telecommunications, and we started to invest in them even before operators in the richest regions of the country. We have participated in discussions about 5G since the first meetings called by the government.

The fiber optic network we build is our backbone. 5G will expand our reach and our ability to deliver to people, wherever they are. We are building a road with these two tracks, and it will allow the passage of larger trains, with an increasing number of cars and services.

What opportunities will the new network create for the development of the regions in which the company operates?Here where I grew up, electricity only arrived when I was 16 years old. Technologies that took decades to reach remote regions are now arriving faster.

Five years from now, with the infrastructure we are building, a person in rural Maranhão will be able to use any new technology service that is launched in the world at the same time as consumers in wealthier regions.

Will there be enough demand to make this investment profitable going forward?We started to implement our optical fiber network, which was then the most modern technology in the world, placing fiber in Pau dos Ferros (RN), a city in the semiarid region that at the time had less than 30,000 inhabitants. We didn’t go to Avenida Paulista.

When you have few resources, innovations flourish, because it forces you to do a lot with little. In many regions where we operate, the density, that is, the number of users per area, is very low, but we managed to do this economically.

Remote regions are those where people most need an internet connection, and this will become increasingly relevant. Those who are in the interior of the Northeast and do not have a doctor nearby will have access to telemedicine, education and other services, at a lower cost and more efficiently.

Opportunities will arise for small farmers and new businesses. Companies will be able to set up anywhere. Location will no longer be a limitation for many activities going forward, in any area of ​​expertise.

​Isn’t that a lot of optimism? The pandemic exposed a very large inequality in access to technology in Brazil.5G will allow for a great digital inclusion process. A low-income person with a prepaid cell phone, who can recharge one month, but not the next, currently has very precarious access to the internet and does not take advantage of the possibilities of the technology offered by the device in his/her hand.

Bringing the fiber into these people’s homes has a high cost, and they are unable to pay the subscription to the plans. With 5G it will be possible to deliver mobility to these people at a lower cost. A little bigger than the prepaid ones they have today, but with a bigger offer of services. The telephone will become the cable TV they don’t have, the mall they don’t go to, the leisure time they don’t have.

Brisanet went public on the stock exchange this year, but its shares have lost more than 60% of their value since launch. How do you hope to overcome investor distrust?The market still doesn’t understand our bid in the 5G auction and thinks we were too aggressive. But a large part of the investments that we are going to have to make were already foreseen in our business plan for the expansion of the fiber optic network.

We were innovative in using radio to connect small towns to the internet and in making the country’s first fiber networks. It was as complicated or more than it will be now to deploy 5G, but we were able to do it at a low cost and by developing in-house the knowledge needed to manage these projects.

When we started, we had an employee here, in the center of the semiarid region, and no specialized labor available in the region. We were training people and we didn’t have any investment fund to help us get where we are.

We are very sure of what we are doing and I believe that at the right time the market will understand. We are not doing this to provide short-term results. The company has a project to grow and perpetuate itself. Anyone who wants to be part of our business will have no loss. At the right time, let’s make everyone happy.

José Roberto Nogueira, 56

Born in the rural area of ​​Pereiro (CE), he took a technical course in electronics by correspondence and worked for four years at Embraer before opening his first business. He started selling computers and satellite dishes and founded Brisanet in 1998.