Brazilian telecommunications industry representatives gathered last week in Brazil’s capital of BrasÃlia for Telebrasil’s 57º panel . About 600 people attended the the Brazilian telecom association’s event. Here are some of the highlights:
- Brazil has reached a total of 100 million broadband accesses, including both mobile and fixed.
- Telcom CEOs argued for a reduction in taxes, noting that the telecommunications sector has already contributed more than U.S.$30 billion (R$60 billion) in taxes;
- As a result of the event, Telebrasil released its open letter, which asks the government to: establish a pro-investment regulatory environment; ensure balanced treatment between regulated and unregulated services that use broadband networks; ensure a sustainable Internet that encourages investment and innovation with the ability to offer differentiated services; promote tax cuts at all government levels to increase investment and mass services; release public funds to help serve areas that are not as economically attractive; and quickly approve the antenna legislation currently in Brazil’s congress to change municipal laws and eliminate bureaucracy that hinders service quality improvement and network development.
New Internet rules—Brazil’s telecommuncications agency, Anatel, has approved new regulation for multimedia communication services (SCM). The agency updated rules that were established almost two decades ago when Internet access was provided exclusively via telephone lines. The update is expected to benefit consumers.
Changes in the NII Holdings—The company said it is separating the chairman of the board position from the chief executive officer position. NII has elected director Kevin Beebe to serve as its independent, non-executive chairman effective May 22, 2013. In addition,  Ricardo Knoepfelmacher has been elected to NII’s Board of Directors. Ricardo K., as he is commonly known in the Latin American market, served as chief executive officer of Brasil Telecom from 2005 to 2009 and chief executive officer of Pegasus Telecom from 2000 to 2002.
More news from Latin America:
- Brazil’s Vivo surpassed Claro in number of LTE accesses, according to the consultant firm Teleco. In April, Vivo had 29,416 LTE accesses, while Claro held 19,043. Neither Oi or TIM had any accesses.
- The International Finance Corporation, which is part of the World Bank, is expected to fund Colombia’s Avantel in the country’s upcoming LTE auction planned for this June.
- The Chilean Secretary of Telecommunications, Subtel, plans to auction 2,500 Wi-Fi hotspot concessions in 259 districts by the end of 2014.
- According to the IDC, 1.4 million computers were sold in Brazil in March, a growth of 37% compared to the previous month but a decrease of 16% in a year-over-year comparison.
- Freescale is partnering with Brazil’s research center CPqD on development for the large-scale deployment of the country’s wireless infrastructure. The announcement was made during this year’s CTIA. The partnership aims to help the deployment of advanced wireless infrastructure technology across the nation ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games and other major events. CPqD and Freescale will develop 450 MHz LTE solutions based on Freescale’s QorIQ Qonverge base station-on-chip processors, which are slated to power long-range base stations throughout Brazil.
- Vietnamese state-run operator Viettel expects to launch operations in several new markets by the end of 2015. Argentina, Cuba and Venezuela are among the markets where the telco hopes to launch mobile telephony services. Other markets being considered by Viettel are Burma, Kenya, Tanzania, Burkina Faso and Swaziland.
- PromonLogicalis announced that its Brazilian unit has grown 31% in its FY13 compared to the previous period. However, the double-digit growth didn’t extend to all of its Latin American business. Its total growth in the region was 8%.
Be sure not to miss what’s happening in Latin America’s wireless markets. Check out RCR Wireless News wrap ups.
