RIO DE JANEIRO – Telecom infrastructure, affordable devices, quality of service (QoS) and coverage are the main issues hindering LTE deployment in Brazil, according to Vivo’s planning and technology director Atila Branco. “Moving to LTE is natural, but there are great challenges to face. In order to use 2.5 GHz, it is necessary to deploy at least twice as many sites than in 700 MHz,” he said during his lecture at Informa’s LTE Latin America event this week.
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The Brazilian telecom agency Anatel has unveiled auction documents for the tender of the 2.5 GHz and 450 MHz frequency bands. The bid is expected to happen in June. However, the 2.5 GHz frequency band does not please mobile carriers since they have to deploy more sites than would be necessary if the spectrum were 700 MHz, and there are less devices available.
In addition to the number of sites, Branco emphasized the difficulty of deploying telecom infrastructure in Brazil because of vendor-delay in delivering products, the lack of qualified labor, as well as licensing and antenna legislation. “There are more than 200 different laws that restrict antenna deployment,” he said.
Changing these laws would be necessary to make the deployment easier. When asked about infrastructure sharing, Vivo’s director said the carrier is enthusiastic about sharing, noting an increasing adoption trend. “There are different models of sharing infrastructure, and we have to see which one would be the best to face the challenge of too many LTE sites.”
Device prices
Branco said that 3G coverage is still being deployed, and it is in the maturation process, noting that only 17% of devices are 3G and this technology will only become dominant in the country in 2015. “In 2014, the entrance barrier for 3G will be similar to 2G in relation to device prices.”
However, unlike 3G which will take about seven years to become a leading technology, 4G is expected to reach about 10% of access by 2016, when Brazil will handle the Fifa World Cup. “It is possible that the maturation period will be faster,” Branco said. The great issue, though, is the cost of the devices, which are too high for many Brazilian subscribers and can be a barrier for consumers to migrate.
Deploying LTE in the 2.5GHz spectrum frequency band could be difficult since other countries, such as the United States, have deployed it in the 700 MHz, and many cellphones focus on this low frequency.
Branco noted that Vivo is enthusiastic about the expansion of mobile broadband services as a tool to democratize the Internet. He pointed out that currently 3% of users are responsible for 60% of all Internet traffic.
Offloading
Regarding traffic offloading, Branco noted that using Wi-Fi could complement LTE services. He said a great percentage of fixed Internet traffic comes from mobile devices, which is an argument for using Wi-Fi as an alternative. “It should continue, but I have to say that from a carrier’s point of view [working with] a standard frequency is better.
Branco also commented on femtocell, saying it is a powerful tool to improve indoor coverage. “But it needs to be regulated by Anatel.”
