Telecom giants shell out $1.27 bln in first day of Brazil’s 5G auction

SAO PAULO: Local units of America Movil, Telefonica, Telecom Italia and a number of local firms spent well over a billion dollars on Thursday in order to scoop up valuable spectrum dedicated to fifth-generation (5G) wireless technology in Brazil.

The auction, the largest ever in Latin America’s top economy, will require some 40 billion reais ($7.14 billion) of investments by the winners, the government has predicted.

On the first day of the auction alone, seven companies spent a total of 7.09 billion reais ($1.27 billion) for spectrum rights throughout Brazil.