First days of 5G technology in Manaus are of instability in some neighborhoods, say users

Karol Rocha – from Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – The capital of Amazonas already has the 5G network since last Friday, 7, according to operators TIM, Claro and Vivo. In Manaus, the population already feels one or another difference in the mobile internet connection on the cell phone, as is the case of the self-employed Giovanna Silva, 32 years old. The service presents instability in the neighborhoods where the technology is activated.

“I have a lot of difficulty sending photos from my cell phone, and with 5G I feel I can send them faster, but I still see the operator’s signal unstable”, said Silva, who lives in the Alvorada neighborhood in the West Zone of the capital. The photographer Aguilar Abecassis, 29, said he hasn’t seen a good connection yet. He lives in the São Geraldo neighborhood, South-Central Zone.

“Here 5G already appears and I still don’t see such a significant improvement. At least not with the expectation that I saw in the reports that, for example, you could download a 2GB movie in 10 seconds, obviously, this is not possible yet”, said the photographer.

In the view of the telecommunications specialist Glauco Aguiar, the implementation of the technology needs more robust investments for a good mobile internet connection in the capital. He says that the operators have been presenting failures in the service during the first days.

“We may be carrying 5G technology, yes, but that doesn’t mean that the telexs have increased infrastructure needed to actually provide 5G. In short, we don’t have the infrastructure for the transport. On the day of the 5G activation, in Manaus, some points had oscillation in the internet connection. What is missing for the Amazon is, really, a more robust infrastructure, high investment”, said.

Connected neighborhoods

Of the 63 neighborhoods recognized by the Manaus City Hall, 5G connectivity is being implemented in 38 locations, according to the operators. Until November 28, the telephone companies have the obligation to activate the stations in the capitals of Brazil.

Among the neighborhoods contemplated by Tim are: Educandos; Presidente Vargas; Japiim; Dom Pedro 1°; Planalto; Morro Da Liberdade; Cachoeirinha; Santa Luzia; Da Paz; Alvorada; Petrópolis; Flores; São Francisco; Nossa Senhora Das Graças; Nossa Senhora Aparecida; Raiz; Cidade Nova; Nova Esperança; São José Operário; Glória; Lírio Do Vale; Vila Da Prata; Aleixo; Zumbi Dos Palmares; São Geraldo; Colônia Santo Antônio; São Raimundo; Santo Antônio; Compensa; Ponta Negra; São Jorge; Centro; Redenção; Praça 14 de Janeiro; Parque 10 de Novembro; Chapada; Santo Agostinho and Adrianópolis.

By Vivo, the connectivity arrived in the neighborhoods: Adrianópolis, Aleixo, Alvorada, Centro, Chapada, Compensa, Dom Pedro, Nossa Senhora das Graças, Parque 10 de Novembro, Praça 14 de Janeiro, Raiz, São Geraldo, Nova Esperança, Petrópolis, Santo Antônio and São Francisco.

For Claro, 5G radiates in the: Adrianópolis, Cachoeirinha, Chapada, Nossa Senhora das Graças, Parque 10 de Novembro, Praça 14 de Janeiro, Aleixo, Compensa, Coroado, Dom Pedro, Grande Vitória, Monte das Oliveiras, Nova Esperança, Santo Antônio, São Francisco, São Jorge, São Raimundo e Vila da Prata neighborhoods.

Countryside of the Amazon

According to the release schedule defined in the 5G Public Notice, it is only as of June 30th 2024 that the Brazilian cities with a population of 100 (one hundred) thousand inhabitants or more will receive the technology. By January 1, 2026, the remaining municipalities will have the service.

Today, Amazonas has three internet connection scenarios: the network connection via the Tucuruí line; broadband internet via the Coari-Manaus gas pipeline and the fiber optic connection through the Connected Amazon Program, run by the Ministry of Defense.

According to the Amazonas Data Processing S/A (Prodam), a privately-held company controlled by the State Government, the 5G connection can complement the existing connections and also the one that will arrive via Santarém, in Pará, with the Norte Conectado project, implemented by the Ministry of Communications.

“These scenarios come together with the arrival of the fiber optic cable from Santarem to Manaus. The 5G, coming through Prodam, we should have it starting at the end of the month when this cable arrives from Santarém and then, we will have an expressway connecting Manaus to Santarém and the south of the country, that is, the global internet through this cable”, projected the president-director of Prodam, Lincoln Nunes.

See the 5G release schedule:

The use of 5G standalone will occur from the release for use in the 3.5 GHz band. The release schedule defined in the 5G Edital is as follows:

a) capitals

b) as of January 1st 2023, in Brazilian cities with a population of 500 (five hundred) thousand inhabitants or more

c) as of June 30, 2023, in Brazilian cities with a population of 200 (two hundred) thousand inhabitants or more and in at least 25% (twenty-five percent) of Brazilian cities with a population of up to 30 (thirty) thousand inhabitants;

d) as of June 30, 2024, in Brazilian municipalities with a population of 100 (one hundred) thousand inhabitants or more, and in at least 50% (fifty percent) of Brazilian municipalities with a population of up to 30 (thirty) thousand inhabitants;

e) as of June 30, 2025, in at least 75% (seventy-five percent) of the Brazilian municipalities that have a population of up to 30 (thirty) thousand inhabitants;

f) as of January 1st, 2026, in the other municipalities.