The federal government will implement a requirement for mobile phone operators to share their signals on highways starting in 2027. This will allow users in areas without coverage from their own operator to use a competitor's network, ensuring 4G or higher connection.
This determination is part of the National Policy for Connectivity on Highways, which was presented this Thursday, the 15th, by the Ministries of Communications and Transport. The plan sets the goal of providing mobile internet across 72.3 thousand kilometers of federal and state roads by the year 2030.
The sharing mechanism, known as roaming, will be supervised by Anatel, which is responsible for defining both the technical guidelines and the remuneration terms between the operating companies.
According to the Minister of Communications, Frederico de Siqueira Filho, the government will not provide financial compensation to the companies; it is up to them to balance the cost of providing the network with the benefit of using competitors' infrastructure. Furthermore, the possibility of increasing tolls due to this plan has been dismissed.
Only with sharing is the available coverage on federal highways expected to increase from 36.6% to 58.9%, according to data from the Ministry of Communications. The covered area will increase from 27.2 thousand to 44.1 thousand kilometers.
Combining this measure with other actions, such as requirements in highway concessions, the overall goal is to reach 57.1 thousand kilometers of federal roads with signal by 2030, which represents more than double the current situation.
For the year 2027, the government plans to connect 16 thousand kilometers of federal highways, including the entire BR-101, covering approximately 4,800 kilometers from Rio Grande do Norte to Rio Grande do Sul.
A portion of this expansion comes from the 700 MHz band auction conducted by Anatel in May. Winning companies committed to investments of about R$ 2 billion, intended to bring signal to 6.5 thousand kilometers of federal roads currently without coverage.
Starting in 2027, operators will also be able to access resources from Fust, the federal fund for telecommunications universalization, through BNDES, aiming to expand infrastructure on the roads.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Transport, George Santoro, emphasized that improving signal on highways will facilitate both accident response and the implementation of the free flow toll system, which will be standard in new concession tenders.