Ericsson pledged to invest BRL1 billion ($236.6 million) to add a new assembly line dedicated to manufacturing 5G kit in a Brazilian factory, as the vendor aims to lead deployments of the technology in Latin America, Reuters reported.

Eduardo Ricotta, president of Ericsson Latin America South, revealed the investment plan to the news agency, stating the vendor aims to have the assembly line operational by Q3 2020, though the exact timing depends on Brazil’s 5G spectrum auction.

Reuters reported plans to conduct the sale in March 2020 had slipped citing ongoing frequency interference tests.

The news agency stated Ericsson plans to make the investment over a five year period, with an initial BRL200 million due in 2020 to create the assembly line in a factory located in an industrial town near Sao Paulo.

Ricotta told Reuters 40 per cent of the gear assembled in Brazil is exported to Latin American countries and this ratio would continue in 5G.

Competition
Rivals Huawei and Nokia have also firmly set their sights on Brazil, with Nokia predicting the spectrum sale could be the largest in the world if all bands are included at the same time.

Bands in the 2.3GHz and 3.5GHz frequencies are expected to be on the block for consumer 5G, with 26GHz and 700MHz due to be used for industrial applications.

Huawei committed $800 million in August to set up a new manufacturing facility in the country, although this will be primarily for smartphones.