The fifth generation telephony will reach three more capitals this Friday (29) without Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency) being able to frame the operators for the quality of the service provided. The technical obstacles give scope for, in practice, users to use a service that does not reach the potential promised by 5G.
In BrasÃlia, the first city to receive the technology in the country (at the beginning of July), the service remains unstable and the promised speeds fluctuate and often match those of 4G due to the lack of coverage in the capital. This week, operations are scheduled to start in Belo Horizonte (MG), João Pessoa (PB) and Porto Alegre (RS).
Anatel technicians consulted manufacturers of chips and fifth-generation devices to find out what is happening and found that few models work today with the technology called “standalone”, that of “pure 5G”.
On the standalone network, the response time for the cell phone to receive data is less than 1 millisecond — time known as latency. “Non-standalone” offers higher latency.
In addition to standalone and non-standalone networks, there are the so-called DSS (Dynamic Spectrum Sharing) networks, which simulate the speed of 5G — but using 4G antennas. Latency is also higher than that of 5G.
Many devices need to have their chips changed to use pure 5G, like the iPhone. Apple has already warned Anatel that its devices need 5G chips to work in standalone.
However, there is a lack of fifth-generation chips on the market. Therefore, according to the manufacturers, the telecoms have not yet launched plans that actually operate with 5G — the only operator that separated the networks with their own plans for standalone 5G was TIM.
Devices today display the 5G signal on the screen, but for the most part they work on the DSS network — which simulates the speed of 5G — or on non-standalone 5G.
Communications Minister Fábio Faria said this Wednesday (27) that he is going to California, USA, to ask Apple to update its iPhones.
“Today, the iPhone is only able to have non-standalone 5G,” said Faria. “To have standalone that works [com] internet of things needs to download update [da Apple]. Operators are already talking [com a Apple].”
The minister said that the idea is to have these updates available from Apple and other manufacturers —Motorola and Samsung— by the end of September, the deadline for 5G antennas to be working in all capitals of the country.
Preliminary data held by Anatel indicate that, in the case of Apple, only the iPhone 13 models (the most recent ones launched by the American company) will allow pure 5G. They must be approved in November. Even so, Apple will have to make specific software available. There is no set date for the release.
Samsung and Motorola models operate on standalone networks without the need to change chips. They are: S21, S21Plus, S21Ultra, A52s, S21FE, A535G, A335G – all from Samsung’s Galaxy series; Edge20, MotoG200, Edge300Pro, Edge30, MotoG82, by Motorola.
The other models from Apple, Samsung and Motorola sold as 5G only work on non-standalone networks.
Until the update of the devices and the arrival of 5G chips, Anatel has no way of demanding compliance with the quality of service because, according to reports from the agency’s technicians, operators have not started selling exclusive 5G plans (with a new chip).
All advertise 5G packages, but they simply migrated customers from one service to another through fourth-generation networks, which simulate the speed of 5G, or new, non-standalone networks.
Anatel’s Obligation Compliance Superintendence is already monitoring this situation and, as of September, when all capitals must have 5G networks installed, it will demand quality in the provision of the service.
According to the president of Gaispi (Group for Monitoring the Implementation of Solutions for Interference Problems), the counselor of Anatel Moisés Moreira, other capitals are advanced with the installation of the 5G network.
Salvador (BA), Curitiba (PR), Goiânia (GO) and Rio de Janeiro (RJ) should be the next to have the green light to start the service, at the meeting scheduled for August 10th.
São Paulo still faces difficulties due to the number of antennas to be installed. Moreira informs that the operators have managed to carry out half of the work so far.
In the case of Belo Horizonte, João Pessoa and Porto Alegre, according to Gaispi, the 3.5 GHz (Gigahertz) band — the main frequency of fifth-generation telephony — was completely vacated.
Frequency is an avenue in the air through which operators carry their signals. Outside of them, interference occurs.
According to the original plan, all 27 capitals should have the service in operation in July. However, the schedule was postponed for two months due to the lack of equipment coming from China, which was forced to decree a lockdown with a new wave of the pandemic.
Therefore, the agency granted until the end of September for all capitals to have 5G antennas. The defined target is one antenna per 100,000 inhabitants per operator.
The equipment coming from China are filters, essential to avoid interference in the 3.5 GHz band, which had been occupied by satellite companies.
With the migration of this use to cellular telephony, Gaispi coordinates a task force to install filters in satellite dishes —which previously captured mainly satellite TV programming— to avoid interference.
Despite the setback, operators that are able to prove the cleaning of the lane (with the installation of filters) for the Gaispi can claim the start of the operation before September.
Conexis, an association that represents companies in the sector, said that the 5G network, with a frequency of 3.5 GHz, was recently activated in BrasÃlia and will have gradual growth in mobile coverage in the city.
“There is no record of any problem with regard to the networks of the providers. To have more information and ask questions about the conditions of use and devices compatible with 5G technology, the user can consult the website of their operator”, said the association. .
I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
