In the quiet town of Santa Rita do Sapucaí, Minas Gerais, with a population of under 41,000, a revolutionary technological proposal is taking shape: The development of a technology that’s project to contribute nearly R$ 17 trillion to global economic growth by 2030.
While 5G technology is still in its infancy in Brazil, Santa Rita do Sapucaí is already pioneering 6G development. Expected to achieve speeds of 1 terabit per second—19 times faster than current 5G rates—6G technology aims to seamlessly integrate the physical and digital worlds.
This forward-thinking spirit isn’t new to Santa Rita do Sapucaí, the birthplace of Brazil’s electronic voting machines and digital TV transmitters. The town boasts an impressive technology sector, with nearly 200 companies generating 60% of the municipal GDP, earning R$ 3.6 billion annually, and employing 14,000 people.
The innovation hub is the Instituto Nacional de Telecomunicações (Inatel), home to Brazil’s first telecommunications engineering course established in 1960, building on the legacy of Latin America’s first technical school of electronics founded in 1950.
Former Vice-Mayor Paulinho Dentista, troubled by the exodus of engineers and the closure of a glove factory, led efforts to attract electronics companies to the town. This initiative gained traction with the creation of the “Vale da Eletrônica” slogan, inspired by Silicon Valley, and support from prominent advertising director Sérgio Graciotti.
A pivotal moment came when an antenna manufacturer relocated to the town after seeing a newspaper ad. Many companies followed, drawn by the skilled workforce and incentives from the local government. By 1985, twenty new industries had established themselves in Santa Rita do Sapucaí, creating 500 jobs.
The Inatel collaborated with companies like IBM to develop advanced technologies, including a video-on-demand player before the internet boom. Although IBM closed its Brazilian lab in 1998, Inatel retained the expertise to influence the development of new telecommunications standards.
6G
“The life cycle of mobile technologies averages 10 years,” said Agostinho Linhares, a researcher and vice-president of the ITU’s Radio Regulation Board. Inatel missed early involvement in 4G but played a role in 5G, though limited by the lack of a precise diagnosis of Brazil’s needs. Now, with 6G still undefined, they are contributing insights tailored to the Brazilian market.
The institute is also developing a new protocol that multiplies cellular signal coverage by 10, potentially included in a 5G revision or future 6G standards. This technology could extend signal range from 5-15 km to 50-150 km, maintaining speeds of 100 megabits per second.
“Since sixth-generation mobile telephony is yet to be defined, we are contributing with what is beneficial for our market and users,”
– Guilherme Marcondes, Inatel’s deputy director
Luciano Leonel, professor and leader of Brazil’s 5G and 6G Competence Center, emphasized the importance of making 6G specifications accessible to remote areas to reduce costs and enhance connectivity.
“Farming, mining, and natural resource exploitation are in these regions and significantly impact our economy. But not only that. Just 10 km from Santa Rita do Sapucaí, in the Vale da Eletrônica, you’ll find children who don’t know what email or WhatsApp is. This is a facet of digital segregation,”
– Leonel
Inatel has already secured use cases for 6G, such as:
- Robotic applications in agriculture
- Real-time transmission of high-resolution drone images
- Sensor-based control of real and virtual entities in hazardous areas
The ITU, part of the UN, and the 3GPP group define telecommunications standards through a rigorous and lengthy consensus process. Inatel collaborates with global partners, including Oulu University in Finland and Dresden University in Germany, to influence these standards.
“The work to influence a standardization process isn’t individual. Inatel can’t do it alone. We need to aggregate institutions to enhance the significance of our solution,” noted Leonel. Despite significant international investment—South Korea alone allocated R$ 2.5 billion for 6G—Inatel strives to ensure that the 6G standard addresses digital segregation issues.
“The work is tough. There’s knowledge protectionism. Companies defending their intellectual property vote. We need a series of arguments. We’re telling the world the problems we need to solve. 6G cannot allow digital segregation,” concluded Leonel.
Source: UOL Tilt
