Neoenergia combines private 4G at 450 MHz, public network and NTN
Fernando Paiva | 03/20/26 4:23 PM
Neoenergia is setting up a hybrid 4G connectivity architecture, combining private network at 450 MHz, public 4G network and NTN-IoT (satellite access). The first two forms of connectivity are already in operation in Brasilia, while NTN-IoT is being tested in Campinas, expected to be adopted in the second half of the year.
The different connectivity technologies will be combined in order to ensure redundancy and resilience to Neonergia, in addition to supporting the digitization process of your electrical network, enabling a series of automation applications in meters, sensors and reconnectors.
The priority will be the connection through the private network in 450 MHz, followed by the public 4G and satellite network, in this order. The latter will be used only when there is no land coverage.
Neoenergy: partners and ecosystem construction
Neoenergia’s 4G private network in Brasilia is composed of 13 sites, covering 60% of its concession area. The supplier of access equipment and core is Nokia. The operation is managed by Neoenergia itself. By 2028, the company intends to expand its private network to the other states in which it operates, including São Paulo, Bahia and Pernambuco.
Connected equipment will use the 9205S LTE IoT chipset, developed by Qualcomm, capable of operating at 450 MHz and in public mobile network bands. In addition, they will use eSIM in the SGP.32 standard, so that it is possible to change public network operator remotely, without the need to send a team to the field to change the SIMcard. Arqia is Neoenergia’s partner as an IoT MVNO for access to the public mobile network.
In turn, satellite access with NTN-IoT is being tested with Skylo in L-band.
It is worth mentioning that the company’s current 4,000 smart meters in Brasilia use Wi-SUN connectivity, while 4G is used for backhaul. But new versions of smart meters compatible with 4G at 450 MHz should arrive later this year.
To enable this hybrid network, Neoenergia needed to foster the development of an ecosystem of manufacturers around the 450 MHz band in Brazil. Among the partners are companies such as Nepen, Constanta, HartBR, Tecsys, Novus, Qualcomm, Arqia, Nokia, BR Captura, Thales, Sierra Wireless and Telit. In addition, Neoenergia is part of the 450 Alliance, a global entity that promotes the use of private cellular networks.
The illustration at the top was produced by Mobile Time with AI.