Chile inaugurated on Tuesday the first “5G zone” in Latin America, an area of 5.5 square kilometers in Santiago, with hospitals, schools, shops, offices and homes and where it is being experimentally sought to show the impact that the new network will have on cities.
“This 5G area will allow citizens to live the experience of a hyper-connected ecosystem, with intelligent transport and greater efficiency in travel times,” said Transport and Telecommunications Minister Gloria Hutt.
The “5G zone” is an open space and, in this experimental stage, some 5G compatible phones in the 3,500 MHz band will be able to use the technology when it is within limits, the minister explained.
“Although 5G technology will be transformative for the productive sectors, it will be even more so for people, as it will allow them to access new telemedicine services, distance education or live in smart cities that will improve the quality of life of its inhabitants,” he added. for telecommunications, Pamela Gidi.
Chile last year tendered for the installation of 5G networks with 700 MHz, AWS and 3.5 GHz bands, but Borealnet, Claro, Entel, Movistar and Wom linked the bids they made for public tenders and “their award will be defined in the economic tender model in a sealed envelope, “the Undersecretary said.
The Agency has indicated that the bidding order will depend on the size of the block and that the auction for the 700 MHz band (20 MHz block) will take place next Monday, 8 February, while the AWS bands (30 MHz block) and 3, 5 GHZ (150 MHz block) will take place on Thursday, February 11, and Tuesday, February 16, respectively.
The adoption of 5G technology, which allows for a considerable increase in connection speed and device interface, has been marked by debates in many countries due to questions related to cyber security and data management.