Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Re-farming of 2.6GHz creates new opportunities in Brazil

BRAZIL: ANATEL’s decision to re-allocate spectrum in the technology neutral 2.6 GHz band to support the nationwide deployment of next-generation Mobile Broadband services is raising interest in the market.

Brazil represents a huge potential market for the fixed and mobile wireless access industry. Drawing from in-depth interviews with Braziian operators and regulator Anatel, this report provides a detailed look at the country's broadband wireless market and regulatory activity, including details of last year's public consultations on 2.5 and 3.5 GHz spectrum allocation, as well as the impact of the recent refarming of the 2.6GHz band.

"At present, WiMAX activity in Brazil has taken place in the 3.5 GHz band only, with Neovia and Embratel leading the market. The driving applications are high-speed Internet and VoIP, mainly to address the needs of small-to-medium enterprises and multi-dwelling untits markets.

On the other hand, mobile services have been a tremendous success, with 200 million mobile subscribers out of a total population of 192 million," explains report co-author Cintia Garza.

Select key findings
* 75 percent of 3.5 GHz spectrum has yet to be released.
* There are over 130,000 WiMAX subscribers today in Brazil, using a combination of 16e and 16d equipment.
* WiMAX ARPU is US$30 monthly (residential) and US$115 (business), compared to just $15 for 3G services.
* Brazil's 2.6GHz spectrum band had previously been allocated to MMDS operators to support pay-per-view TV services.

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