Antonio Carlos Valente, the president of Telefónica Vivo, said the company is waiting for a decision from the Administrative Council for Economic Defense before moving forward with integrating GVT’s operations. Telefónica bought GVT last year from the French group Vivendi.
Speaking with members of the press during the Campus Party Brazil opening session, Valente said he expects the politics around the telecom sector to be similar to what they have been in the past. Valente said he has met the new communications minister and called the meeting a positive one.
Net neutrality: Following approval of the Internet bill “Marco Civil da Internet,” Brazil opened public consultation for comments on the pending regulatory issues. Net neutrality and data privacy are among the hottest topics under discussion.
TIM Brasil: In a visit to Brazil, Telecom Italia CEO Marcos Patuano tried to diffuse market speculation over a possible acquisition of its subsidiary TIM Brasil by rival Oi. Patuano said Telecom Italia plans to continue investing in TIM.
More news from the Latin American region:
COLOMBIA – Colombian regulator La Agencia Nacional de Espectro is set to assign 100 megahertz of spectrum in the 2.3-2.4 GHz band for mobile broadband services.
CHILE – Telecom operator Entel released fourth quarter results, showing total revenue declined 7% compared to the same period of 2013, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell 45%. Total mobile customers reached approximately 11.8 million at the end of last year, a 1% drop from the previous year.
BRAZIL – The pay-TV market reached 19.58 million connections at the end of December, representing 7.6% growth for the year. Together, América Móvil units – Claro, Embratel and NET – controlled nearly 52% of the market. As for mobile lines, LTE connections totaled 6.7 million in December, accounting for 2.41% of the market. Brazil ended 2014 with 280.73 million mobile connections, up 3.55% compared to December 2013.
PERU – Nearly 167,000 mobile users changed their operator while keeping their old number between July and December 2014. Through number portability, Claro lost 77,422 users, and Movistar lost 73,354 customers.
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.
