The Brazilian association of telecommunications companies SindiTelebrasil announced that operators have installed about 3,500 antennas to meet the schedule established in the 2.5 GHz auction for serving the six host cities of the Confederations Cup (Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Fortaleza, Recife, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador). Investments in the 4G infrastructure and purchase of frequencies amount to approximately BRL 5 billion. Other cities which were only to be served in December already have 4G, such as Sao Paulo, Curitiba and Porto Alegre. By the end of this year, 4G services should reach all the World Cup venues, which also include Cuiaba, Manaus and Natal. SindiTelebrasil expects another 6,000 antennas for 4G will be installed by the end of 2013. It estimates initial 4G coverage at 50 percent of the urban area of the above mentioned cities.
