Qualcomm proposes spectrum auction for self-driving cars in Brazil
Brazilian regulator Anatel and Qualcomm are discussing a proposal the latter has submitted for the use of the 70MHz spectrum block in the 5.9GHz frequency for autonomous cars, said Fracisco Soares, Qualcomm's Latin America head of regulatory affairs.
The US chipmaker has been working with carmakers and other players in the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) to promote the Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) standard for International Transportation Systems (ITS).
The ITS 5.9GHz band has been set aside by governments worldwide to enable vehicles to talk to each other using dedicated frequencies that won't be subject to interference, GSMA said in a recent report.
In some countries, however, part of the 5.9GHz band is also used for Wi-Fi, which would leave less than 70MHz for ITS or require some form of sharing or coexistence between Wi-Fi and ITS, explained Soares in a roundtable with the press at Qualcomm's headquarters in São Paulo.
In Brazil, unlike other markets, the 70MHz band is available and totally free in the range of 5.9GHz; 70MHz is the minimum amount of spectrum required to support advanced safety services, such as sharing large amounts of data collected by on-vehicle sensors.
"Brazil has an advantage there. The topic is well advanced at Anatel. There is nothing closed, but we expect a public consultation on the use of the 5.9GHz frequency for this year. The idea is that it can take place still in the first semester," the executive said in a reply to a BNamericas question.
5G AUCTION
Qualcomm also defends a new format for Brazil's future 5G auction, on the 3.5GHz spectrum, expected for the end of this year.
In the contribution submitted to Anatel's public consultation on the issue, Soares said that "the amount of spectrum currently available in the 3.5GHz band in Brazil would not serve all existing operators with 100MHz of spectrum each."
Therefore, he said, a possibility could be a "two-phase planning. In a first phase, blocks smaller than 100MHz would be licensed in 3.4-3.6GHz."
Soares wrote in the submission that "Taking into account that the same ecosystem for this range applies to the entire 3.3-3.8GHz range, we then suggest Brazil consider making more spectrum available in the full range for mobile services. So, in a second stage it would be possible to license up to 100MHz per operator."
This position similar to the one telcos association SindiTelebrasil defends, which says that if the amount available in the 3.5GHz band is not enough to serve each operator, a "complementation" using the 3.3GHz-3.4GHz spectrum bands would suit.
The consultation ended on December 9 with 86 observations submitted.
If the proposal for the use of the sub-bands does not go forward, Qualcomm defends a different design for the auction: instead of a modeling that would lead to four equal blocks of 50MHz for each of the four national carriers, the US chipmaker defends blocks of different sizes.
This way, Vivo, Claro, TIM and Oi would necessarily have to "fight" for the premium lots.
MmWAVE
Qualcomm says it is trying to persuade Anatel to add to the same 3.5GHz tender the millimeter wave (MnWave) frequencies in the 26GHz band, to avoid a second 5G auction in the future.
The MmWave spectrum, considered of greater capacity, are located in the bands of 24GHz or higher.
They are not yet standardized by global bodies but have already been auctioned, in the 28GHz band, in the US and in South Korea.
Brazil, however, prefers to wait for a regulation by ITU's World Radio Conference (WRC), although Soares believes that this is not necessary.
Another request by Qualcomm is that prices charged for the spectrum blocks are not excessively high.
"I know it's very difficult to have that in Brazil, with the current difficulties in terms of government funding. The government always wants to use spectrum auctions to raise cash. But there is a growing wave within Anatel so that instead of charging too much for the spectrum, more obligations of coverage and service are required from the bidders," said Soares.
Soares believes Chile could be the first Latin American country to auction 5G frequencies if the country manages to solve the spectrum cap row.
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