Brazil’s new rules on 5G auction appear to put China’s Huawei back in the running

Federal government will require winners of 5G spectrum auction to build a high security wireless network for its exclusive use

Chinese tech giant not mentioned by name, but ruling suggests no company will be banned from bidding

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The US under Donald Trump urged Brazil and other allies to block Huawei components in their 5G networks. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:45pm, 31 Jan 2021Updated: 3:45pm, 31 Jan 2021

Brazil’s federal government will require winners of an upcoming 5G spectrum auction to build a high security wireless network for its exclusive use, according to an order published late on Friday.

The requirement is one of the new guidelines for the auction the government is planning for 2021.

While the decision does not mention Huawei Technologies Co, it erases the likelihood of banning any company from the auction, which had been a possibility for the Chinese tech giant, a person familiar with the communication ministry’s decision making said.

The move comes as Brazil needs to access large amounts of Chinese supplies for vaccines to combat Covid-19. Brazil has the world’s second-highest tally of fatalities, after the United States.

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro told reporters on Saturday that the 5G auction would not be used as a bargaining chip in global negotiations, O Globo newspaper reported. He said no decision had been made, adding that Communications Minister Fabio Faria would visit countries interested in the matter next week.

Companies seeking to build the network for the government’s exclusive use must have equipment suppliers with “transparency and compliance patterns in line with those required by Brazil’s stock market”, according to a statement on the communications ministry website.