Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency (Agencia Nacional de Telecomunicacoes, Anatel) has confirmed that the country’s national mobile operators are permitted to launch Standalone (SA) 5G services using the 3.5GHz frequency band in a further five state capitals from today (6 October).

The latest locations to receive the green light are as follows: Belem (capital of Para), Macapa (Amapa), Manaus (Amazonas), Porto Velho (Rondonia) and Rio Branco (Acre). With this action, all 26 state capitals – and federal capital Brasilia – have now been approved for SA 5G connectivity.

The watchdog notes that a total of 5,275 SA 5G base stations have been activated in Brazilian capitals to date – double the minimum commitment previously established. This total represents 6% of the overall 93,159 cell sites in the country. By 2025, 6,370 5G base stations must be installed in the state capitals. In total, the state capitals are home to nearly a quarter of the Brazilian population.