Of all the 5G narratives, the one that matters most is this: according to a PWC report, the new technology has the potential to impact the world with $1.3 trillion by 2029, in all areas — innovations in healthcare ($530 billion), IoT applications ($330 billion), media & consumer ($245 billion), industrial ($134 billion) and financial services ($85 billion). You don’t often see someone talking about trillions. This will be possible because the connection levels achieved by the new frequency should expand the information visible to companies, enabling new opportunities. Translating, more and better products, services, experiences. The so-called growth in the vein.
In Brazil, this new world debuted on July 5th, the date that marked the launch in Brasília of 5G by operators. The frequency was later released to other capitals, including the most emblematic battlefield: the city of São Paulo, where the fifth generation of mobile networks arrived on the 4th of this month. With its 12.4 million inhabitants, more than 23 of the 27 federative units in the country, it will be the best laboratory for people and, especially, for corporations. The fight, however, will take place throughout the national territory. Big players — Claro, TIM and Vivo — took the national and regional lots in the auction. But there are others that were left with smaller lots, with regional operations — such as Algar, Brisanet, Ligga (ex-Copel) and Winity II. Wendell Oliveira, CEO of Ligga, told DINHEIRO that the company will have its strategy focused on both the final consumer and the B2B segment. “The focus on the corporate customer is justified because large, long-term projects have high profitability,” he said. “5G will be to businesses what 4G was to people.”
“It was important to encourage discussion of the topic in the business segment, which needs 5G and we are discussing applications with partners” Leonardo Capdeville CTIO from TIM.
A reasoning also followed by the big players. Leonardo Capdeville, CTIO at TIM, told DINHEIRO that the company has been preparing for 5G since 2019, having piloted it in Campina Grande (PB), Florianópolis (SC) and Santa Rita do Sapucaí (MG). “It was important to promote the discussion of the topic in the business segment since then, it needs standalone 5G [soluções autossuficientes]”, said Capdeville. The technology will be strategic for companies because it meets both decisive aspects of the telecommunication universe: latency and speed. Vivo is also eyeing the corporate segment. “It will be a space for companies to create immersive services and experiences,” said Márcio Fabris, vice president of Marketing and Sales at the company, in a statement. “We open up a world of possibilities for customers and society in general.” The executive also said that 5G will bring “the stability that companies are looking for for their online systems” and should foster the internet of things. At Claro, also through a note, the company stated that “5G will bring experience gains to the consumer market and meet the needs of the B2B market.”
EFFICIENCY TO TIM, in partnership with Stellantis — an automotive conglomerate that owns brands such as Citroën, Chrysler, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, Peugeot, among others — carried out an experience in applying the technology at the plant in Goiana (PE). According to the company’s CTIO, it was possible to help improve the quality process of the vehicle assembly line, through a camera connected to the 5G network. “We are discussing possible applications with partners,” said Capdeville. “To bring about this gain in efficiency”. For the executive, the three largest segments that should benefit from the new generation are agribusiness. The spearhead of Brazil, will make a brutal difference, logistics and the base industry. “We have to see the possibility of recovering this gap in competitiveness in the industrial sector”. Especially in relation to the industrial sector, he is more optimistic. “We need to make a leap to catch up on these decades of delay, and 5G opens up that opportunity.” And one of the effects predicted by the TIM executive is the explosion of the home office in the pandemic. Changing behaviors. “It will become a reality in the industry.”
The remote work modality is the darling of 78% of Brazilians, who would like to continue with the practice after the pandemic, according to a study by FEA-USP with the Fundação Instituto de Administração. User reaction is good. There are common comments on social networks such as “5G in São Paulo is better than the fiber internet I have at home”, which is not surprising. The average internet speed in Brazil is 93 mbp/s for fixed broadband (32nd place in the world) and 22 mbp/s for mobile networks (80th place), according to Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index. As much as the speeds are in accordance with the 1 gigabit per second specified by Anatel, some users claim that the latency is still not ideal, reaching a maximum of 13 milliseconds and far from the 1 millisecond that the technology promises.
“Prices cannot be an obstacle for the population, we must gradually find a new way of charging. It is an important point that operators will have to look at” André Miceli CEO of Mit Tech Review Brazil.
With speeds soaring, a concern has arisen in users’ minds: will my plan work? The natural movement is for phones to start consuming more data from the contracted package. Capdeville said it’s normal for packages to be adequate over time, “as we see the profile change, the packages change,” he said. “But in a historic curve, the price of the gig of packages has dropped a lot.” According to him, TIM wants users to take advantage of what technology can provide. “It’s giving customers the potential to use 5G in the best way and until then we get to know what the profile is, what the customer needs and what they don’t.”
ONLY IN 2026 André Miceli, CEO and editor-in-chief of MIT Tech Review Brazil, told DINHEIRO that a point of attention is the democratization of access. “The price cannot be an obstacle for the population,” he said. He believes that a new way of charging should gradually be found, one that is not linked to data consumption, or packages “from so many gigs to so many gigs”, he said. “It is an important point that operators will have to look at”. In this regard, apps will also have to adapt. Streaming services and social networks already have settings in which the user can choose to use reduced data, reducing the quality of photos, videos, audios, among other resources. “This should be general for all data-intensive apps,” said Miceli.
Natural care for a technology that promises to be transformative. And in which Brazil arrives a little late. moisés
Moreira, Anatel advisor and president of the Monitoring Group for the Implementation of Solutions for Interference Problems in the 3,625 to 3,700 MHz band (Gaispi), told DINHEIRO that the obligation to meet the most advanced technical specifications runs until September 29. He reinforces that planning will follow the schedule, reaching one antenna for every 10 thousand inhabitants in 2025. “On January 1, 2026, all Brazilian municipalities must have pure 5G”, he said. An extended deadline is the downside of the story. The bright side is that it can make the economy soar.
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