Anatel granted an extension to the authorization for Telefônica Brasil, which owns Vivo, to conduct tests with Direct-to-Device (D2D) technology, which enables cell phones to connect to satellites. This permission covers the entire national territory and also authorizes the commercial exploitation of the service under the guidelines of the experimental regulatory environment.
Act No. 11.334 was published in the Official Gazette of the Union this Wednesday, September 16th, granting Vivo the possibility to conduct tests without restriction on the number of connected mobile stations. Previously, the license, issued in July, was scheduled to expire on October 22 of this year.
According to TeleSíntese, the operator itself requested this extension, justifying that the initial period would be insufficient for conducting truly representative tests.
SpaceX informed the FCC, the U.S. telecommunications regulator, that it had obtained permission to operate in Brazil but requested confidentiality regarding which operator would be the partner. There are strong indications that this partner is Vivo, information corroborated by sources consulted by Tecnoblog.
The company is responsible for the Starlink satellite network and the Starlink Mobile service, previously known as Direct-to-Cell. This service is already active in the United States and other locations, such as Australia and Chile. On its website, the company already mentions Brazil among the countries that will soon receive the service.
D2D technology allows compatible cell phones to establish direct communication with satellites, eliminating the need for parabolic antennas or other external devices. In the U.S., this service is offered by T-Mobile in the most comprehensive packages, but it can also be accessed by customers of other operators by paying US$10 (approximately R$52).
Additionally, Claro also conducted experimental tests of this technology in a controlled environment (sandbox) previously held in São Luís, Maranhão. This experiment took place in collaboration with Lynk Global, also an American company, although the latter has not shown intention to adopt the service at the moment.
The authorization granted by Anatel allows Telefônica to use the frequencies of 2,567.5 MHz and 2,687.5 MHz, with a 5 MHz channelization in each band and a transmission power of up to 100 W. The service is classified as Limited Private Service (SLP) and uses Personal Mobile Service (SMP) station licensing.
It is important to note that transmissions operate on a secondary basis. Consequently, Vivo has no right to protection against interference and must immediately cease testing if the signal causes any type of disturbance in other duly authorized telecommunication systems in the country.
