The development follows confirmation that Brazil will begin its 5G auction next month, as planned. That news was confirmed by communications minister Fabio Faria on Wednesday and all state capitals in the country are expected to have 5G Stand Alone operational by July next year.
The auction will also mandate companies to deliver 4G internet networks to all Brazilian cities and fibre networks in Brazil's northern region.
On the private networks, the delegation, led by the Ministry of Communications, will travel to Washington and New York between 6-11 June to learn about the private 5G networks in the US and meet with potential investors, investment banks and companies. According to Reuters the line-up so far includes Motorola Solutions, IBM, and AT&T Inc.
Faria said: “All the countries that are holding the auction are doing the private network. It is a private network that enters the Armed Forces, the Federal Government, the Judiciary, the Legislative. And that, I would say, will be the future of 5G auctions."
Joining Faria's team will be representatives from the Ministry of Defense, the Special Secretariat for Strategic Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic, the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin), the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, the Court of Federal Accounts (TCU) and parliamentarians.
They will meet with US government agencies – including the defense and intelligence departments – and the internal security department, which controls borders and cyber-attacks, as well as the FCC, FBI and CIA.
However, the first hurdle for Brazil's ambitions is likely to be Huawei. While president Jair Bolsonaro was a Trump ally, Brazil and China are major trading partners and, since the US elections last year, it has been reported that Brazil is no longer looking to bar Chinese telecom equipment makers from its 5G networks.
Huawei's official line on Brazil states: "US security officials are pressuring the Brazilian government to prevent Huawei from inclusion in the construction of the country’s 5G networks, in spite of Huawei’s 20-year record delivering safe and reliable networks across the country.
"Huawei is a trusted partner to the government and has helped its public institutions to go digital, building its first e-government cloud. Working with Brazil’s telecom operators, Huawei has connected more than two-thirds of the country’s population in more than 20 cities."
