Cell Sites
In this page: Attendance data, Cell Sites and Levels of electromagnetic Radiation. Source: Anatel and Teleco. |
Cell Sites in Brazil By Operator
| Operator | 2023 | 2024 | Mar/25 | Apr/25 | New Cell Sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vivo | 32,911 | 36,882 | 37,478 | 37,546 | 68 |
| TIM | 34,991 | 35,448 | 35,657 | 35,658 | 1 |
| Claro | 24,804 | 27,998 | 28,719 | 28,965 | 246 |
| Brisanet | 680 | 1,738 | 1,951 | 2,044 | 93 |
| Algar | 394 | 763 | 762 | 762 | 0 |
| Sercomtel/Ligga | 45 | 44 | 44 | 45 | 1 |
| Unifique | 9 | 35 | 162 | 267 | 105 |
| Total | 93,835 | 102,908 | 104,773 | 105,287 | 514 |
Cell Sites by Infrastructure Classification (Apr/25)
| Type | Algar | Brisanet | Claro | Sercomtel Ligga |
TIM | Unifique | Vivo | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COW | - | - | 93 | - | 33 | - | 5 | 131 |
| Fastsite | - | - | 9 | - | - | - | - | 9 |
| Greenfield | 269 | - | 14,252 | 1 | 11,364 | - | 14,412 | 40,298 |
| Harmonizada | - | - | 50 | - | 137 | - | - | 187 |
| Indoor | 4 | - | 523 | - | 520 | - | 262 | 1,309 |
| Outdoor | - | - | 130 | - | - | - | 1 | 131 |
| Ran Sharing | - | - | 333 | - | 237 | - | 503 | 1,073 |
| Rooftop | 12 | - | 2,936 | - | 2,043 | - | 2,026 | 7,017 |
| SmallCell | 4 | - | 26 | - | 163 | - | 211 | 404 |
| Streetlevel | - | - | 61 | - | 443 | - | - | 504 |
| Not Identified | 473 | 2,044 | 10,552 | 44 | 20,718 | 267 | 20,126 | 54,224 |
| Total | 762 | 2,044 | 28,965 | 45 | 35,658 | 267 | 37,546 | 105,287 |
Cell Sites by Technology (Apr/25)
The table below shows the number of cell sites by technology of each operator. It is important to emphasize that a cell site can contain equipment of more than one technology, with that the sum of cell sites by technology will be greater than the total of cell sites of the operator.
| Operator | 2G | 3G | 4G | 5G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIVO | 15,968 | 26,133 | 33,444 | 16,407 |
| TIM | 18,187 | 19,846 | 30,782 | 12,811 |
| CLARO | 19,720 | 24,776 | 28,285 | 12,099 |
| BRISANET | - | - | 1,871 | 1,588 |
| ALGAR | 399 | 615 | 560 | 185 |
| UNIFIQUE | - | - | 263 | 235 |
| SERCOMTEL | 38 | 42 | - | 1 |
| Total | 54,312 | 71,412 | 95,205 | 43,326 |
| 5G | 2023 | 2024 | Mar/24 | Apr/25 | New Cell Sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vivo | 3,781 | 13,515 | 16,201 | 16,407 | 206 |
| Claro | 6,057 | 10,594 | 11,785 | 12,099 | 314 |
| TIM | 7,848 | 12,287 | 12,721 | 12,811 | 90 |
| Algar | 161 | 186 | 185 | 185 | 0 |
| Sercomtel/Ligga | 1 | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Brisanet | 680 | 1,375 | 1,506 | 1,588 | 82 |
| Unifique | 9 | 34 | 141 | 235 | 94 |
| Total | 18,537 | 37,991 | 42,539 | 43,326 | 787 |
5G Cell Sites by Infrastructure Type
| Infrastructure | Algar | Brisanet | Claro | TIM | Unifique | Vivo | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COW | - | - | 44 | 19 | - | - | 63 |
| Fastsite | - | - | 4 | - | - | - | 4 |
| Greenfield | 128 | - | 4,913 | 4,491 | - | 6,049 | 15,581 |
| Harmonizada | - | - | 35 | 50 | - | - | 85 |
| Indoor | - | - | 237 | 73 | - | 27 | 337 |
| Outdoor | - | - | 87 | - | - | - | 87 |
| Ran Sharing | - | - | 104 | 8 | - | 63 | 175 |
| Rooftop | 8 | - | 2,440 | 1,679 | - | 1,430 | 5,557 |
| SmallCell | - | - | - | 4 | - | 63 | 67 |
| Streetlevel | - | - | 39 | 195 | - | - | 234 |
| Not Identified | 49 | 1,588 | 4,196 | 6,292 | 235 | 8,775 | 21,135 |
| Total | 185 | 1,588 | 12,099 | 12,811 | 235 | 16,407 | 43,325 |
| 4G | 2023 | 2024 | Mar/24 | Apr/25 | New Cell Sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vivo | 29,513 | 33,518 | 33,768 | 33,444 | -324 |
| Claro | 24,144 | 27,373 | 28,031 | 28,285 | 254 |
| TIM | 29,304 | 30,568 | 30,780 | 30,782 | 2 |
| Algar | 356 | 556 | 558 | 560 | 2 |
| Brisanet | 347 | 1,565 | 1,778 | 1,871 | 93 |
| Unifique | 2 | 34 | 161 | 263 | 102 |
| Total | 83,666 | 93,614 | 95,076 | 95,205 | 129 |
| 3G | 2023 | 2024 | Mar/24 | Apr/25 | New Cell Sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vivo | 26,098 | 27,575 | 26,655 | 26,133 | -522 |
| Claro | 22,414 | 24,558 | 24,746 | 24,776 | 30 |
| TIM | 15,321 | 19,830 | 19,846 | 19,846 | 0 |
| Algar | 298 | 624 | 615 | 615 | 0 |
| Sercomtel/Ligga | 42 | 42 | 42 | 42 | 0 |
| Total | 64,173 | 72,629 | 71,904 | 71,412 | -492 |
| 2G | 2023 | 2024 | Mar/24 | Apr/25 | New Cell Sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vivo | 15,293 | 16,447 | 16,207 | 15,968 | -239 |
| Claro | 18,714 | 19,405 | 19,637 | 19,720 | 83 |
| TIM | 17,782 | 18,055 | 18,140 | 18,187 | 47 |
| Algar | 228 | 402 | 399 | 399 | 0 |
| Sercomtel/Ligga | 38 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 0 |
| Total | 52,055 | 54,347 | 54,421 | 54,312 | -109 |
Number of Cell Sites in Brazil
| Region | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Mar/25 | Apr/25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 43,322 | 46,816 | 53,339 | 54,459 | 54,625 |
| II | 24,676 | 26,076 | 26,855 | 27,364 | 27,583 |
| III | 19,656 | 20,943 | 22,714 | 22,950 | 23,079 |
| Total | 87,654 | 93,835 | 102,908 | 104,773 | 105,287 |
Attendance: published by Anatel (Apr/25)
Anatel released the following datas: number of cell sites and attendance (covered cities and population) in Brazil.
| SMP | SMC | State | Cell Sites |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | 3 | Rio de Janeiro | 9,826 |
| Espírito Santo | 2,872 | ||
| 4 | Minas Gerais | 12,141 | |
| 8 | Amazonas | 1,674 | |
| Roraima | 247 | ||
| Pará | 2,975 | ||
| Amapá | 360 | ||
| Maranhão | 2,299 | ||
| 9 | Bahia | 5,431 | |
| Sergipe | 959 | ||
| 10 | Piauí | 1,474 | |
| Ceará | 4,860 | ||
| Rio Grande do Norte | 2,014 | ||
| Paraíba | 1,980 | ||
| Pernambuco | 4,162 | ||
| Alagoas | 1,351 | ||
| II | 5 | Paraná | 6,281 |
| Santa Catarina | 4,438 | ||
| 6 | Rio Grande do Sul | 6,255 | |
| 7 | Mato Grosso do Sul | 1,378 | |
| Mato Grosso | 1,957 | ||
| Goiás | 3,427 | ||
| Distrito Federal | 2,050 | ||
| Tocantins | 822 | ||
| Rondônia | 661 | ||
| Acre | 314 | ||
| III | 1/2 | São Paulo | 23,079 |
| Brazil | 105,287 | ||
Source: Anatel
Cell Sites Acquisition in Brazil
| Year | Seller | Buyer | Towers | Price US$ | Price by Tower US$ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Highline | SBA Communications | 1,200 | - | - |
| 2016 | Telefonica | Telxius | 1,655 | 214,000,000 | 129,305 |
| 2015 | Algar Telecom | Highline do Brasil | 125 | 16,000,000 | 128,000 |
| 2015 | T4U | Phoenix Tower | 529 | - | - |
| 2014 | TIM | American Tower | 6,480 | 1,200,000,000 | 185,185 |
| 2014 | BR Towers | American Tower | 4,630 | 978,000,000 | 211,231 |
| 2014 | Oi | SBA Communications | 1,641 | 527,000,000 | 321,146 |
| 2013 | Nextel | American Tower | 1,940 | 349,000,000 | 179,897 |
| 2013 | Z-Sites | American Tower | 236 | 129,000,000 | 546,610 |
| 2013 | Oi | SBA Communications | 2,007 | 645,000,000 | 321,375 |
| 2013 | Nextel | American Tower | 2,790 | 413,000,000 | 148,029 |
| 2013 | Oi | SBA Communications | 2,113 | 343,000,000 | 162,328 |
| 2013 | Oi | BR Towers | 2,113 | 251,000,000 | 118,788 |
| 2013 | Oi | Grupo TorreSur | 2,113 | 293,000,000 | 138,665 |
| 2013 | Telefonica | American Tower | 93 | 18,000,000 | 193,548 |
| 2013 | Sitesharing | BR Towers | 100 | - | - |
| 2012 | Telefonica | SBA Communications | 800 | 178,000,000 | 222,500 |
| 2012 | Oi | Grupo TorreSur | 1,208 | 258,000,000 | 213,576 |
| 2012 | Telefonica | American Tower | 192 | 33,000,000 | 171,875 |
| 2012 | Telefonica | BR Towers | 1,912 | 252,000,000 | 131,799 |
| 2012 | Telefonica | American Tower | 1,500 | 225,000,000 | 150,000 |
| 2011 | Telefonica | Grupo TorreSur | 1,358 | 206,000,000 | 151,694 |
| 2011 | Sitesharing | American Tower | 666 | 585,000,000 | 878,378 |
Source: TowerXchange and Teleco
 |
Cell Sites authorized by Anatel Anatel available in its site: Cell Sites addresses per cities and operators in Brazil. STFC Radiocommunication Stations |
Electromagnetic Radiation
The cellular antenna radiation levels in ERBs are defined in the Regulation about limitation of the electric fields exposition, magnetic and electromagnetic in the radiofrequency band between 9 KHz and 300 GHz. Annex to the resolution n. 303 from july 2nd of 2002. Click here and check the Regulation ( in portuguese)
How far should we stay from cellular antennas?
Minimum distance of the antennas to be lesser exposed:
minimum distance (m) = 8.16 sqrt (e.r.p/f)
which f is the frequency, in MHz and
e.r.p. is the radiated effective power in the direction of bigger antenna gain, in watt.
Usual Values of Minimum distance
Using a usual band value found in cellular systems to the interested frequencies , we have:
| E.R.P. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.000 W | 100 W | 10 W | 1 W | |
| f = 800 MHz | 9.1 m | 2.9 m | 0.9 m | 0.3 m |
| f = 1,800 MHz | 6.1 m | 1.9 m | 0.6 m | 0.2 m |
