Brazilian regulator Anatel (Agencia Nacional de Telecomunicacoes) has confirmed that it plans to provide subsidies as an incentive to accelerate the transition from legacy 2G and 3G network architectures to 4G and 5G standards.
The subsidies will be issued via the Superintendence of Grants and Resources, with TeleGeography reporting that they will be made available to operators, vendors and end users. Anatel began accepting feedback on the proposal for 30 days from 29th September.
In a statement, Anatel said: “the transition from 2G and 3G technologies to more advanced technological standards, such as 4G and 5G is a necessary step to meet the demands of new applications and business models, in favour of the country’s digital transformation and in a way that directly benefits consumers, the various economic sectors and industry.”
“Restricted or 2G/3G-only supported devices use spectrum less efficiently and, globally, their isolated ecosystems are becoming obsolete to meet the demands of current applications.”
Anatel’s data shows that as of August 2023, there are around 21.479 million 2G subscriptions and 21.021 million 3G subscriptions throughout Brazil, including M2M connections.