Anatel to allocate leftover 5G auction funds for govt AI data centre, TV 3.0 boxes

Details: John Tanner; Category: Data Centres & Networks; 06 November 2026; 496 views

Brazil’s telecoms regulator Anatel said on Wednesday its board of directors has endorsed two internal proposals to allocate BRL1.7 billion (almost US$309 million) of leftover funds from its 5G auction in 2021 to two new projects: a sovereign AI data centre and TV 3.0 converter subsidies.

The proposals have already been approved by Anatel's GAISPI working group, which oversees projects, interference mitigation, and fund allocations related to Brazil’s 5G auction.

Under one proposal, Anatel will allocate BRL375 million to the data centre project, which is intended to boost the federal government's processing infrastructure.

The facility – which will contain an AI module with liquid cooling, high-capacity servers and redundant power supply – will be built on 5,000 square meters of government land. State-owned telco Telebras will operate the data centre, which will be integrated with the Federal Public Administration’s private network.

Anatel councilor and GAISPI chair Edson Holanda said the sovereign data centre project is strategic for Brazil.

“At a time when digital sovereignty has ceased to be a topic for specialists and has become a matter of national security, this project puts the infrastructure where it needs to be,” he said in a statement.

The second proposal calls for another BRL1.28 billion to be allocated to Anatel’s project to distribute TV 3.0 converters to low-income families.

Brazil officially adopted TV 3.0 (a.k.a. DTV+) as its next-gen digital terrestrial TV broadcasting standard in August 2025, but viewers have to either buy a TV 3.0-compatible television set or a converter box to receive DTV+ channels.

Anatel’s TV 3.0 project plans to serve approximately 910,000 families enrolled in the federal income transfer program in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and the Federal District for 24 months, covering equipment with Android or the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and all delivery logistics.

"TV 3.0 is the biggest transformation in broadcast television since digitization. Without this project, the technological transition would create a new exclusion: those who can afford the new device enter the new era, and those who cannot are left behind,” Holanda said. “This council decided that no one will be left behind for lack of a converter.”

Anatel’s multi-band 5G spectrum auction, which was completed in November 2021, raked in total commitments of BRL 47.2 billion.

Holanda said the decision to release the BRL1.7 billion in leftover 5G funds to the two projects preserves the obligations of the original tender.

“We did this with a guarantee that I consider non-negotiable: the full reservation of what is needed to complete the original projects, plus a safety margin,” Holanda said. “No obligation of the tender is affected.”