An ordinance of the MCTIC sets out guidelines for the award across four spectrum bands, to be carried out by the regulator Anatel.
Background: Regulators in Brazil have not awarded new spectrum to operators for some time now. The last spectrum auction dates back to 2015, and Anatel’s plans for a multi-band spectrum auction, announced in May 2019, faced delays. On 5 February 2020, the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications (MCTIC) released guidelines which are the first step to make that auction happen. Spectrum in the 700MHz, 2.3GHz, 3.5GHz, and 26GHz bands will be awarded, with a view to bring 5G to Brazil. While the award will be carried out by the telecoms regulator Anatel, the ministry’s guidelines provide directions for Anatel to set the rules of use for those frequencies.
Coverage and sharing obligations are expected: The ordinance of the MCTIC establishes that Anatel will have to consider establishing coverage obligations with mobile broadband that is “4G or superior”, for villages and towns with more than 600 inhabitants, and for federal highways. In municipalities not yet served, the development of high-speed transport networks, preferably fibre, should be a requirement. The regulator should also look to encourage the sharing of active and passive infrastructure between providers, including towers and ducts. Finally, Anatel is required to consider use-it-or-lose-it conditions, so that, if services are not activated in those bands by a certain deadline, third parties can make use of them.
Next steps: Anatel will now have to set out the details for the auction. These could be revealed after Anatel’s next board meeting this month, after which there will need to be a public consultation on the auction rules and conditions. While Anatel was aiming to carry out the award during 2020, it is likely that it will be pushed back to Q1 2021.
