The Ministry of Science, Technology, Information and Communications (MCTIC) signed two Memoranda of Understanding with Europe this Tuesday (28 February) for exchanges of information and experiences on 5G technology and the Internet of Things (IoT). The signature of the documents marked the last day of MCTIC's participation at the Mobile World Congress.

The first MoU, related to 5G development, was signed between the MCTIC, Telebras and the 5G Infrastructure Association (5GIA), an organisation that brings together companies and technology developers from the EU. According to the association, Brazil is one of the four strategic countries for joint collaboration in the development of 5G, together with China, Japan and South Korea.

The second agreement was signed between MCTIC, the Brazilian Association of the Internet of Things and the Alliance for Internet of Things Innovation (AIOTI).

"Our idea is to work on real projects and achieve real progress. Brazil's problems and solutions sometimes are not the same as those in Europe, and as such can be leveraged and adapted by the other parties. It's a win-win situation," said Maximiliano Martinhão, Secretary of Information Technology Policies at the MCTIC, who signed the MoUs during the Mobile World Congress (a technology conference held in Barcelona, Spain).

According to Martinhão, Brazil and the EU share the view that it is necessary to seek global standards and harmonisation, promote IoT and develop the private sector. The agreement will also help build the National IoT Plan, which has recently entered the international public consultation phase.

On Tuesday, Minister Gilberto Kassab had a series of meetings with companies and delegations. Joined by Andrus Ansip, the European Commissioner for Digital Single Market and Vice President of the European Commission, Kassab discussed IoT and 5G technology standards.