MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

5G technology starts operating in São Paulo

Some 1,400 antennas have already been installed, almost three times the minimum required.

The largest city in South America started bringing 5g mobile telephone services Thursday, one week after the government passed new legislation allowing for speedier installation of antennas suitable for the new technology.

Providers TIM, Claro, and Vivo have been cleared to offer uninterfered fifth-generation services by the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel).

Mobile phones and computers began receiving 5g data from a network of 1,400 antennas covering 25% of the city at 8 am local time (11 GMT), it was announced.

The bulk of the antennas was installed in the Historic Center, down Paulista Avenue, which is the most important avenue in the city, and part of the south zone, including neighborhoods such as Itaim Bibí, an area where large national and foreign companies have their offices.

The 5G technology for mobile internet offers an average speed of 1 Gigabit, which is ten times faster than 4G, and may reach 20 Gibabits, shortly, according to Anatel experts.

With 12 million inhabitants, São Paulo is the main metropolis in South America and the fifth Brazilian state capital to implement 5G technology.

The service was launched on July 6 in Brasilia, the federal capital, with 3 million inhabitants, followed by Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, and João Pessoa.

As per Anatel calculations, all 27 Brazilian state capitals will have 5G operational networks by the end of the year.

The use of the 3.5 gigahertz (GHz) frequency for the new generation of mobile Internet came nine months after the Ministry of Communications defined in an auction the companies entitled to use the frequencies for business or private services.

“Equipment was installed to avoid interference in 226 Fixed Satellite Service stations and tests were carried out to confirm the operation without interference”, detailed Anatel.

Some 1,400 antennas have already been installed, almost three times the minimum required.