Brazilian regulator Anatel has closed bidding in the country’s multi-band 5G spectrum auction.
The long-awaited auction brought in a total of BRL47.2 billion (USD8.5 billion) in bids, with the 3.5GHz concessions attracting the highest bids – a total of BRL22.79 billion for national permits and BRL7.92 billion for regional permits. The 2.3GHz band brought in BRL9.45 billion, with the 700MHz band generating BRL3.57 billion and the 26GHz band raising BRL3.45 billion.
Brazil’s three biggest players Claro Brasil, Telefonica Brasil (Vivo) and TIM Brasil were the major spenders, although regional telcos - including Algar Telecom, Brisanet and Sercomtel - also lodged significant bids to obtain licences. Winity Telecom was a major winner in the 700MHz band.
President of the Special Bidding Commission Abraao Balbino e Silva underlined the importance of 5G spectrum to Latin America, saying: “We never had an auction with such economic volume involved: privatisation did not yield that, 3G did not yield that, 4G did not yield that.”
TeleGeography quoted Silva as saying that of the total bids, around BRL7.44 billion would be converted to goodwill bonds, with the winning bidders required to supply network coverage to pre-selected underserved regions in Brazil.