The Brazilian telecom regulator Anatel has announced a 20-day extension to the deadline on its consultation on the use of the 700MHz band in the country, according to NexTV LatAm daily news. The watchdog has taken the decision it says, to allow interested parties to fully express their views about its proposal ‘Regulations about the terms of use for the broadband radio frequency from 690MHz to 806MHz’. The new deadline is set as 5 May.
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, in February this year Brazil’s Minister of Communications Paulo Bernardo officially sanctioned the use of the 700MHz band for mobile broadband services in a decree published in the federal gazette – Diario Oficial da Uniao. The authorisation gave Anatel the go ahead to begin formulating how to define and allocate the 698MHz-806MHz frequency band for mobile broadband use, with one eye on furthering the goals of the country’s national broadband plan (Plano Nacional de Banda Larga, or PNBL). Under the plans, the government is looking to speed up the process of digitalising TV services in Brazil, accelerating plans to switch off analogue signals in at least some parts of the country by July 2016, whilst simultaneously strengthening broadband capacity and penetration with additional (more suitable) spectrum.