The Brazilian government’s forthcoming auction of 700MHz 4G wireless spectrum may see licences incorporate obligations to meet quality of service (QoS) goals rather than the more common coverage targets. A report from Telesemana, which cites Brazilian news portal Teletime, says local telecoms regulator Anatel is looking to ensure that mobile or fixed wireless broadband services offered via 700MHz networks will meet minimum QoS requirements, including download speeds. The licences are likely to be technology neutral and may also include obligations relating to antenna placement and the use of backhaul.
As reported by CommsUpdate in November, Anatel intends to allocate 10+10MHz (or a maximum of 20+20MHz, if required) of frequency blocks in the 698MHz to 806MHz range via a competitive tender. The frequency blocks in question are currently assigned for the use of analogue TV channels. Further, the watchdog says it plans to allocate smaller blocks of spectrum, which are being set aside for public security, national defence and infrastructure services.