Major Brazilian Cities to have LTE Services By May

BY STAFF REPORT

A majority of telecom operators in Brazil will launch LTE/4G services by the end of April this year and the service will be available in six major cities, according to Brazil’s Communications Minister Paulo Bernardo.

The Minister, who spoke to reporters on the sidelines of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, informed that telecom operator Claro had already rolled out the service.

Several operators in Brazil have won 2.5GHz licenses in an auction carried out last year.

The Brazilian government is pushing the operators to launch the service at the earliest as there is a need for the country to put infrastructure in place ahead of 2014 Soccer World Cup.

BNamericas quoted Bernardo as saying that the carriers had assured him that they would launch the service in the weeks to come.

What delayed the 4G rollout in Brazil is, according to the Minister, the spectrum required for LTE service is currently being used by pay-TV operators.

Some local operators are reportedly part-financing smartphones in an attempt to sign up more customers.