Now that the FIFA World Cup has ended, carriers and observers are evaluating how the mobile networks performed during the tournament. While the National Union of Fixed and Mobile Telecom Companies of Brazil (SindiTelebrasil) claimed that 2G, 3G and LTE coverage performed beyond expectations and that it received a low volume of complaints, some sports fans who went to the stadiums (including this reporter) found that data access could have been better. SindiTelebrasil said that over the course of the 64 matches, 4.5 million phone calls were made and 48.5 million photos were sent, and that a total of 26.7 terrabytes of data were transmitted — because of this high use, some are calling it the “World Cup of selfies.”
Twitter and Facebook said the World Cup broke Super Bowl records. Twitter claimed that 672 million tweets sent related to the 2014 #WorldCup, however it added that “while this is the highest number we’ve announced related to an event, it’s hard to compare the 32-day, 64-match World Cup to, for example, the single-game Super Bowl, the one-night Oscars or the 16-day Olympics.”
“The fact that Facebook and Twitter have announced they broke records means that telecom infrastructure worked fine, not only in the arenas,” Eduardo Levy, executive director of SindiTelebrasil, said. In addition to the 4,738 antennas built in the 12 stadiums, Levy said that the Wi-Fi infrastructure built in six stadiums helped to offload traffic, providing better service for those attending the matches.
In total, carriers invested $101.6 million to build the wireless infrastructure in the 12 arenas. Levy doesn’t believe that telecom operators will see a return on this investment, at least in the short term.
An individual on-site test
At the match between Argentina and Switzerland at Arena de São Paulo, an RCR Wireless News reporter tested Oi and Vivo 3G networks and was unable to access data services, including Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. Another attendee who had an LTE plan was also able to access services. In Brazil, there are about 2.5 million LTE customers, with W-CDMA 3G technology used by just over 41% of subscribers and 2G GSM connections accounting for more than 51%.
In the middle of the World Cup, Wells Fargo Securities senior analyst Jennifer Fritzsche, said that cellular coverage at the 2014 World Cup was “somewhat inefficient.” In her words, “the opening game coverage went smoothly, though officials fear as the games drive on, the increase in data usage may be too much for the networks to handle.”
The 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil had the third-highest aggregate attendance in the competition’s 84-year history, with a total of nearly 3.2 million spectators flocking to the country, causing unprecedented capacity and coverage demands on Brazilian mobile networks. Radio Frequency Systems shared the following infographic to illustrate the demands at the four stadiums where RFS supplied a distributed antenna system solution built specifically for the World Cup:
Check out more announcements related to the World Cup:
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PT forced to cut share in Oi merger: The market is closely watching the consequences of a default by the Espírito Santo family’s holding company, which failed to repay more than $1 billion it owed to Portugal Telecom. As a result, PT has been forced to take a cut in its share of a merger with Brazil’s Grupo Oi.
PT disclosed late last month that it is holding $1.22 billion in commercial paper from Rioforte, a unit of Espírito Santo International. Banco Espírito Santo, which is 20% owned by a unit of Espírito Santo International, owns 10% of PT shares, according to The Wall Street Journal.
On July 16, Oi announced a memorandum of understanding with PT in relation to financial investments in Rioforte. PT and Oi subsidiaries are set to conduct an exchange through which PT SGPS will deliver to Oi approximately 474.3 million Oi common shares and about 948.7 million Oi preferred shares, representing 16.6% of the voting capital and 16.6% of Oi’s total capital. Oi, in return, will deliver the securities to PT SGPS, for 100% of its face value, without additional payments.
Telefónica to leave Telecom Italia: The Spanish group Telefónica is reportedly in talks to sell its stake in Telecom Italia in a move that could ease regulatory pressure in Brazil’s wireless market. Last December, Brazil’s antitrust regulator issued a negative assessment of Telefónica’s move to bolster its stake in the Telco holding company that owns about 22% of Telecom Italia, which in turn controls the Brazilian carrier TIM. By increasing its stake, Telefónica would have effectively taken control of the heavily indebted Italian firm. The message from Brazilian regulators was clear: either Telefónica had to sell its position in Telecom Italia or find a new partner for its Brazilian carrier Vivo.
More news from the Latin American region:
- The Colombian Ministry of ICT predicts $10.7 million in ICT investments will be made over the next four years. The country released the second phase of its Vive Digital plan, covering the period of 2014-2018. Auctions for LTE spectrum are also included in the plan.
- Ecuador telecom regulator Conatel unveiled measures to boost telecommunications infrastructure deployment.
- Brazil’s Ceará Federal University and Ericsson plan to work together on speeding up 5G development.
- Colombian operator Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogota said it has reached 500,000 homes with its fiber-to-the-home technology.
- Brazil regualtor Anatel approved long-overdue rules for the coexistence of LTE and digital TV. The regulations seek to ensure the compatibility between telecom and broadcasting services operating on the same band.
- Millicom released second-quarter results, with the telco group highlighting strong momentum in Colombia, whose market share gains helped drive a 27% increase in service revenue.
- Peru needs about 14,000 more antennas to supply telecom services and networks. Currently, there are 7,900 antennas in the country.
- Paraguay expects to raise $80 million in a future 4G spectrm auction.
Wondering what’s going on in Latin America? Why don’t you follow me on Twitter? Also check out all of RCR Wireless News’ Latin American content.
