Anatel Foresees 3G Auctions in Early 2002

date: April 11, 2001 - source by:

Brazilian regulator Anatel could auction 3G mobile licenses in the 1.9GHz band in early 2002, provided that the necessary equipment is available on the market, Anatel president Renato Guerreiro was quoted as saying in Brasil Agora.

Anatel has only reserved 30MHz in the 1.9GHz range for 3G, while European countries have dedicated 60MHz. Operators that currently use the 1.9GHz band are scheduled to lose that exclusivity in 2005, and Anatel could redistribute the spectrum at that time.

Band-D and -E mobile operators will be able to migrate automatically to 3G as soon as the equipment for the 1.8GHz band becomes available, Anatel director Jose Leite Pereira told attendees at Rio Telecom 3G international conference this week.

Fabio Leite, manager of the International Telecom Union (ITU) IMT 2000 project, told the conference that the industry is investing US$500bn to introduce 3G globally, and that 100 licenses have already been awarded.