The board of directors at the National Telecommunications Agency (Agencia Nacional de Telecomunicacoes, Anatel) has approved the renewal of Algar Telecom ’s spectrum usage rights in the 800MHz, 900MHz and 1800MHz bands. The 800MHz permit has been extended until 29 November 2028, while the other two concessions will run until 22 December 2032. According to TeleTime, the 15-year licences were previously renewed in 2008 and were due to expire on 21 January. Locations covered by the regional licences include Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Goias.

Going forward, Anatel is understood to be keen to reappraise the issue of 2G/3G spectrum licences, rather than renewing them automatically when they expire. The watchdog hopes to revise its rules governing spectrum allocations and use (Regulamento de Uso de Espectro, RUE) to create larger, contiguous spectrum blocks in the 850MHz, 900MHz and 1800MHz bands, which can be used to boost capacity in the 5G-era.