Algar Telecom

Company Overview

Algar Telecom S.A., the telecom division of Brazilian group Algar, offers telecommunications services in Brazil's Minas Gerais, Goias, Mato Grosso do Sul, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Paraná states and Brasília. Formerly known as CTCB Telecom, Algar operates some 19,000 km of optical network installed in the southeast of Brazil, serving 1.3 million clients.

The company operates traditional 2G GSM services over 900 and 1800 MHz, and 3G services over B1 (2100 MHz). The company in partnership with Nokia constructed and launched B28 (700 MHz) 4G LTE services in November 2016. In June 2017 Algar announced that it had refarmed 5 MHz of its 10 MHz block in the 1800 MHz band previously used for 2G to provide B3 LTE services.

In December 2017 Algar announced the activation of LTE-A 2C services, combining bands B28 with B3 to provide higher peak DL data rates.

Algar 5G

After obtaining a special permission from sector regulator Anatel to use the 3.5 GHz band for testing, Algar conducted 5G tests in partnership with Huawei and with support from the University of Uberlândia. The 5G tests reached data rates of 1 Gbps DL and 114 Mbps UL.