Regional Brazilian operator Algar Telecom has successfully refarmed a portion of its 1800MHz 2G spectrum for 4G LTE use, TeleTime reports. The news site notes that subscribers in 14 cities are now able to use the 1800MHz band for 4G services, including: Franca (Sao Paulo); Itumbiara (Goias); and Arapora, Carmo do Paranaiba, Frutal, Iturama Serrana, Para de Minas, Patos de Minas, Prata, Santa Vitoria and Uberaba (all Minas Gerais). The remaining cities have not yet been identified. In the 1800MHz band, 5MHz of Algar’s 10MHz spectrum allocation has been refarmed, the report adds.
TeleGeography notes that the 1800MHz LTE coverage augments Algar’s existing 700MHz 4G networks, which were launched in the mining cities of Uberlandia and Ituiutaba in November 2016. The 700MHz network is expected to be extended to other areas as and when the spectrum is freed up by the country’s broadcasters. Previously, on 30 September 2014 Algar paid BRL29.57 million (USD8.5 million) for 700MHz spectrum covering 87 municipalities in the states of Goias, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Sao Paulo. In April 2015 the telco selected Finnish equipment vendor Nokia for the deployment of its 4G network.