Communications minister hints at 2013 tender for 700MHz spectrum

Brazil’s minister for communications Paulo Bernardo has called for calm from the country’s telecoms operators, saying that despite resistance from the broadcasting sector, the federal government is keen to allocate parts of the 700MHz band for mobile broadband services – probably through an auction next year. ‘The regulator [Anatel] is working on it and we hope to have this issue resolved in the second half [of 2012], ahead of an auction next year,’ the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper quotes Paul Bernardo as saying. The minister’s statement confirming the state’s plans to license the spectrum for ultra-high speed 4G mobile broadband is a blow to broadcasters which remain resolute in their desire to hang on to the their 700MHz frequencies. However, to their dismay, Anatel has conducted a public consultation on the possible revision of the allocation of 746MHz to 806MHz band, currently used for retransmitting TV channels 60 to 69.