Claro Brasil has confirmed that it plans to switch on its Standalone (SA) 5G network in Brasilia ‘in the coming days’ – as soon as it receives approval from the government’s Group for the Implementation of Solutions for Interference Problems (Grupo de Acompanhamento da Implantacao das Solucoes para os Problemas de Interferencia, GAISPI). The telco expects that use of the 3.5GHz frequencies will be rubber-stamped by GAISPI next week. A total of eleven 5G-compatible smartphones are listed on the company’s website ahead of the launch.

TeleGeography notes that Claro introduced Non Standalone (NSA) 5G services in July 2020 using dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) technology, which enables the parallel operation of 4G and 5G services via one frequency band. Connectivity was initially enabled in selected zones of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and Claro’s NSA 5G footprint stood at 35 cities as of 30 June 2022.