Brazilian operator TIM, in partnership with Ericsson, Motorola and Qualcomm, carried out tests of a 5G Standalone (SA) network with some compatible cell phones.
The trials were performed using the Motorola Edge 20 and Edge 20 Pro devices. Both devices support 5G CA NR (Carrier Aggregation New Radio) in standalone mode.
The 5G NR CA SA data connection was established in TIM’s commercial network associated with its 3.5 GHz experimental network, aggregating non-contiguous spectrum in the 700 MHz (n28) and 3.5 GHz (n78) bands.
The 5G SA network will be able to be commercially activated by the operator once the upcoming 5G spectrum auction in the country is completed.
5G NR CA performance was completed using Ericsson’s 5G SA RAN infrastructure, Motorola smartphones with Snapdragon 778G and 870 5G Mobile Platforms with Snapdragon X53 and X55 5G Modem-RF Systems.
“Testing with 5G CA across different spectrums will allow us to balance capacity with coverage by seeking the best of 5G technology,” said Leonardo Capdeville, CTIO of TIM Brasil.
Brazilian carrier Vivo had recently announced the start of 5G tests in the 26 GHz band in partnership with Finnish vendor Nokia.
The trials will take place in Rio de Janeiro, in Vivo’s laboratory in Barra da Tijuca and two sites located in Barra and Recreio dos Bandeirantes.
These 5G tests are possible thanks to a specific license issued by Brazilian telecommunications regulator Anatel for testing 5G in the 26 GHz band.
The carrier said that the main goal is to observe which services may be developed using this frequency, including FWA or applications aimed at the corporate market.
Brazilian telecommunications regulator Anatel has recently approved the rules for the 5G spectrum auction, which is scheduled take place on November 4.
Anatel expects to award blocks of spectrum in the 700 MHz, 2.3 GHz, 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz bands over a 20-year period. The Brazilian government expects to attract approximately 50 billion reais ($9.37 billion) in bids. Successful bidders will also be required to invest 40 billion reais and provide connectivity to highways across the country, as well as thousands of schools.
The rules approved by the watchdog also stipulate that 5G should be deployed across Brazilian state capitals by July 31, 2022.
Brazilian cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants will have 5G by July 31, 2025, while the deadline for the rollout of the service in locations with more than 200,000 inhabitants is July 31, 2026. Also, Brazilian cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants will have 5G by July 31 2027, and the service will be available in locations with more than 30,000 inhabitants by July 31, 2028.
The future deployment of 5G technology in Brazil could have a $1.216 trillion economic impact and an increase in productivity of $3.08 trillion, according to a previous study by Nokia and Omdia. ICT, government, manufacturing, services, agriculture, and retail will be the industries most impacted by the future deployment of 5G in Brazil, the study concluded.
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