Brazilian newcomer Winity Telecom has teamed up with satellite operator Hughes do Brasil (HughesNet) and regional player Algar Telecom to launch its ‘RuralChip’ LTE pilot project. The service went live on Friday 16 June using Winity’s spectrum in the 700MHz band.

The pilot took place in two Maranhao-based towns: Presidente Juscelino and Cururupu. Hughes supplied each cell site with a high-capacity backhaul solution, while Algar offered the use of its network operations centre (NOC) and data centre. Ericsson equipment was used in Presidente Juscelino, while the Cururupu cell site leveraged Nokia technology.

TeleGeography notes that Winity Telecom – which is backed by alternative asset management firm Patria Investimentos – successfully bid on a national 2×10MHz 700MHz licence in Brazil’s November 2021 5G spectrum auction, paying BRL1.428 billion (USD276.8 million) – the highest bid for a single spectrum lot in the auction. The newcomer plans to build 5,000 cell towers by 2029 and establish itself as Brazil’s first wholesale operator.