‘I’m going to decide 5G,’ says Bolsonaro; legal competence belongs to Anatel | Politics

The auction by the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) of the new telecommunications frequencies, where 5G will “transit”, was postponed to 2021 due to the pandemic. So far, there is only one cell phone enabled for the frequency in Brazil, and the operators carry out tests using the 4G frequency itself.

“Look, we have the 5G business ahead of us. Make it clear, I am going to decide 5G. It is not a third party, no one guesses, no. I am going to decide 5G,” the president said during a broadcast. social networks.

The auction parameters are defined by Anatel, which according to the General Telecommunications Law enjoys “administrative independence, absence of hierarchical subordination, fixed mandate and stability of its leaders and financial autonomy.”

However, there are debates about 5G technology on topics such as national security, espionage and data privacy (see details below). In these cases, the issue falls on the intelligence of the government and the Presidency of the Republic itself.

Despite saying that he will not accept guesswork, Bolsonaro also said he talks to government officials and “governments of other countries” about the pros and cons of the available models.

“It’s not in my head, alone. I speak with General Augusto Heleno, from GSI, I speak with Ramage, who is the head of Abin [Agência Brasileira de Inteligência]I speak with Rolando Alexandre, who is the director general of the Federal Police, with more intelligence in Brazil, with more experienced people, ”Bolsonaro listed.

The president continued: “I speak with the US government, I speak with various entities, countries, you know, what we have in favor and against,” he said.

Bolsonaro began to speak out on the issue while defending the need for Brazil to have a robust intelligence system. At that time, the president commented on the production of an alleged dossier against antifascist movements by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, something alien to 5G.

“We are a power. We have to have a robust intelligence system to be able to work there at the front. Look, there is the 5G business ahead,” Bolsonaro said, entering the topic.

In addition to technological issues, the 5G debate involves ideological, economic and national security disputes. The issue remains at the center of the trade war between the United States and China.

The new technology allows connections about 10 times faster than 4G and is considered essential for the so-called “internet of things”, with the automation of houses, vehicles and objects of daily use.

One of the main patent holders in 5G is the Chinese company Huawei, which faces restrictions in the United States and England and is accused of having excused ties with the Chinese Communist Party. The company denies being involved in any type of espionage, governmental or private.

US President Donald Trump, of whom Jair Bolsonaro is an ally, went so far as to declare a national emergency in 2019 to protect the United States’ Internet from “foreign adversaries,” without naming the Chinese firm by name.

In a workshop with Brazilian journalists in March, the Huawei said it will not participate in the frequency auction – the company’s focus is on the later phase, when operators outperforming the competition will need equipment to get 5G up and running.

Also in March, members of the board of directors of Anatel G1 that the question of who could or could not participate in the Brazilian 5G should be discussed by the Office of Institutional Security (GSI) and the Presidency of the Republic.

The statement indicates that the decision will not only be technical or technological, but will also be influenced by economic, diplomatic and national security issues.

By banning Huawei from using 5G in July, for example, the UK government justified the decision with a stance from the US government, which, in practice, prevented the Chinese giant from receiving chips from companies in other countries. to manufacture their equipment.

The decision is expected to delay British 5G by three years, at an additional cost of £ 2 billion (R $ 13.6 billion), and was justified by the need for system security. The US blockade was justified by alleged national security risks.

In Brazil, the tender announcement for the auction was approved by Anatel in February and submitted to public consultation. Four frequency bands will be offered: 700 MHz, 2.3 GHz, 26 GHz and 3.5 GHz. The frequency bands are spectra used, for example, for the provision of cellular telephony and pay television.

As a regulatory agency, Anatel does not have the power to define which companies can or cannot participate in the 5G auction in Brazil. This is because competition must be based solely on technical criteria, and excessive restriction of these elements can even set the wrong address.

Discussions about national security and espionage, however, go beyond the role of the regulatory agency. At an event in Rio in June, the Prime Minister of the Civil House, Braga Netto, declared that the issue would not be analyzed solely on the basis of technique.

“The discussion will not only be technical, right? The political aspect, the evaluation … It is exactly this post-pandemic, this is not our position, it is the position of the whole world. The whole world is reconsidering these associations and everything, I can’t go into the subject a lot with you, but I guarantee it. I already have guidelines from the President himself on this subject. But it is not exclusively technical. Okay? “He said.

In November, for example, Jair Bolsonaro received the CEO of Huawei for Latin America, Zou Zhilei, and the president of Huawei in Brazil, Yao Wei, in a meeting at the Planalto Palace. Commenting on the meeting, he said that he only heard about the company’s situation and its interest in participating in 5G.