On Tuesday, Chile inaugurated the first “5G Zone” in Latin America, with a 5.5-square-kilometer area in Santiago that includes hospitals, schools, shops, offices and homes, and where an experiment is being sought to demonstrate the impact the new network will have on cities.

“This 5G region will allow citizens to live the experience of a highly interconnected ecosystem, with smart transportation and greater efficiency when traveling,” said Transport and Communications Minister Gloria Hut.

The minister explained that the “5G area” is an open space and at this experimental stage, some phones with 5G technology in the 3500 MHz band will be able to take advantage of the technology when within the limits.

“Although 5G technology will be transformative for the productive sectors, it will be more important for people, because it will allow them access to new telemedicine services, tele-education or live in smart cities that will improve the quality of life of their residents,” added the Under Secretary. Communications Pamela Jedi.

Chile submitted a tender last year to install 5G networks with the 700MHz, AWS and 3.5GHz bands, but the companies Borealnet, Claro, Entel, Movistar and Wom are tied to their bids for public tenders and their “prize will be determined according to the economic auction model in an envelope” Closed”.

The agency indicated that the bid will be based on block size and that the auction for the 700 MHz band (20 MHz block) will take place next Monday February 8, while the AWS (30 MHz block) and 3.5 GHz (150 MHz block) bands will take place on Thursday February 11 and Tuesday. February 16 in a row.

The adoption of 5G technology, which allows for a significant increase in connection speed and hardware interface, has marked discussions in many countries due to questions about cybersecurity and data management.