Winity targets 800 cell sites by end-2023

Would-be open access mobile operator Winity Telecom hopes to have 800 cell sites in service by December 2023, as it seeks to fulfil the rollout conditions attached to its 700MHz licence. The target was disclosed by chief technology officer Estevam Araujo at the Teletime TEC event this week. The construction of the cell sites will be outsourced, but the infrastructure will be owned by Winity, Mr Araujo clarified.

The executive commented: ‘We propose to build a network where it does not exist, where it has never been economically viable … The more users and companies using our network, the greater our measurement of success will be. We really need to share, and we modulate each solution according to customer demand.’

TeleGeography notes that Winity Telecom, a holding company backed by alternative asset management firm Patria Investimentos, scooped up a national 2×10MHz 700MHz licence in Brazil’s November 2021 5G spectrum auction. Winity paid BRL1.428 billion (USD276.8 million) – the highest bid for a single spectrum lot in the auction. In September the company enlisted Amdocs to support the rollout of its 4G and 5G networks across remote communities in Brazil.

Ultimately, Winity plans to build 5,000 cell towers by 2029 and establish itself as Brazil’s first wholesale operator.