It appears that 2010 may be the year for the Brazilian 4G market, with auctions expected for 3.5GHz, 2.5GHz, and 450 MHz bands and remaining 3G spectrum according to Maravedis’ latest report. Drawing from interviews with Brazilian operators and regulator Anatel, the report offers insight into the broadband wireless market and regulatory activity.
“As the largest market in Latin America, Brazil offers attractive opportunities for 4G operators. Demand for wireless broadband access is intensifying, but lack of sufficient spectrum has delayed many commercial network deployments. With two public consultations held in 2009 for 2.5GHz and 3.5GHz spectrum allocation, Anatel could release spectrum for the development of 4G this year,” explained Senior Analyst for Latin America Cintia Garza.
“At present, WiMax activity in Brazil has taken place in 3.5GHz only, with Neovia and Embratel leading the market. The driven applications are high-speed Internet and VoIP provided, mainly to address the needs of the small-medium enterprises and multi-dwelling units markets,” she added.
It is also worth noting that mobile services have been a major success, with 168 million mobile users out of a population of 192 million inhabitants. The predominant technology is GSM with 151 million subscribers, followed by CDMA and WCDMA with 8.4 million and 3.5 million respectively.
