- March 10, 2021
- Posted by: medium
- Category: National
CNT has 541 antennas nationwide, which it has strengthened to receive the 5G frequency. They hope to install another 77 antennas.
Until 2022, 618 antennas are expected to be installed by the National Telecommunications Corporation (CNT) nationwide with the 5G frequency or also known as the fifth generation of mobile telephone technologies.
Of these 618 antennas, 541 are already operational and due to their multi-technology function they can provide 5G, according to the general manager of CNT-EP, Martha Moncayo. They plan to add another 77 between this and next year.
He explains that several demonstrations have been carried out and that the first to enjoy the speed generated by 5G will be educational, industrial areas and even the most populated cities.
5G technology, worldwide, is described as a “revolution”. What is this process like in the country?
It is a process that over time not only requires regulation, which is what is given to us by the State and the Ministry of Telecommunications and Arcotel, which are finishing contracting for the valuation of the spectrum for the use of 5G, which is in the 3.5 and 700 bands. However, this does not mean that you cannot buy the technology. There are some antennas that are multi-technology.
How many antennas did you purchase?
We already have towers installed that can pass all types of technology, from 2G to 5G. Right now we are using LTE (standard model for wireless communications). We have 541 antennas (multitechnology) nationwide and they could already receive the 5G frequency and we will continue in 2021 and 2022 with an additional 77.
This is a step of awareness about where we have to go, but it is also doing it little by little because the investments needed are extensive.
How much did CNT invest?
CNT did not stop investing despite the pandemic year. We had around $70 million of deployment investments across all of our lines. (…) But we have to increase that number in the coming years to be able to move forward. We have to make a jump of $150 million.
Where will they be located?
The most populated cities and education areas will be the first to be able to enjoy this speed and at the same time use it. The State and private companies will also define where the product can be commercial for them.
I think in industrial and educational areas like the university. At this moment the majority of antennas are in the Pacific zone, in Guayas and Manabí; and in the Sierra and the East.
What are the antennas like?
The traditional ones look the same. The others are smaller and would be located in buildings and other places to be able to produce at the shorter distance that 5G requires to keep moving at the speed it needs.
CNT has carried out several tests of the use of 5G technology. What has been the result?
What we did with Nokia in Guayaquil was precisely a speed test of the minimum latency that 5G has. What do I mean by minimum latency, the experience when you are watching a movie or doing something that is interconnected such as receiving or sending data, when it is cut off it means that it has high latency. And 5G has low latency.
That day we did the 500 megabytes exercise. When you want to download a movie it can take up to 20 minutes and here it was in 58 seconds.
In this process it is not only 5G, but the IoT, that is, the internet of things. How will it work?
We are going to have a very important boost for agriculture, the environment, and industries. With 5G comes better use of the Internet of Things. It is everything where a device sends information and charges without the human hand being present. 5G makes all these devices talk together.
Another exercise is that a car could receive the alarm about accidents, like what is already done a little with Google Maps. Here, however, the car would be connected. So, it is the management of all that data quickly that will give us a better quality of life.
In agriculture, the exercise was with a drone in real time and one could see how healthy the plants are based on the chlorophyll sensors. The same can be known in other plantations of how healthy they are from a top view.
In the case of livestock, you can put up virtual fences to know if one or more animals leave the perimeter, it is a good weapon against cattle rustling; This reflects that the Internet of Things is much closer and more beneficial than we could think.
Are the projections planning to offer this service, the connection for the Internet of Things or the IoT?
We are going to focus in a first stage on developing these products for clients, companies and MSMEs that will help them start working with the Internet of Things. This internet can now happen, in large spaces this digital fence can be created at georeferenced points so that they can report if a cow has been stolen. For that you need some permits from Arcotel, which is formulating, and come out with that part. The most important thing about 5G is to be ready in the development of devices.
Could this project of the acquisition and placement of new antennas until 2022 be affected or not with the next government?
I really hope that when this change occurs, which will be on May 24, they can stick to what is a ten-year strategic planning that we left behind on how investments should be developed. I hope that awareness exists.