European telco operates in Brazil through its TIM unit
Italian telecommunications group Telecom Italia confirmed the company was not in talks with Brazilian telecoms operator Oi to merge assets in the Brazilian market. The European telco said there were no formal or informal negotiations with the Brazilian telco.
In Brazil, Telecom Italia operates through its local subsidiary TIM, which provides mobile and fixed telephony as well as broadband services.
Earlier this week, Reuters reported Telecom Italia had launched talks with Oi to discuss a possible merger between TIM and Oi, citing two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The sources said that possible changes in Brazilian telecommunications industry rules could favor the merger of the two mobile operators. The sources added the value of the operation has not been discussed.
TIM ended October 2015 with 71.9 million mobile subscribers, representing a market share of 26.26% of the overall Brazilian mobile market, according to the latest figures from Brazilian telecom regulator Anatel. Meanwhile, Oi had 48.2 million mobile subscribers, with a market share of 17.98%.
T-Mobile’s LTE infrastructure reaches 82% of Czech population
Czech mobile operator T-Mobile has deployed 2,000 new transmitters across the country to boost LTE coverage. By the start of 2016, the telco had approximately 3,700 LTE sites in operation covering 82% of the population in 2,300 locations across the Czech Republic. Also, the telco reported its combined 3G/LTE coverage currently reaches 96% of the Czech population.
By the end of this year, T-Mobile expects its LTE network to reach 100% of the Czech population. The telco is owned by German telecom operator Deutsche Telekom.
Last month, the telco said it has reached network speeds of 375 megabits per second on the downlink and 50 Mbps on the uplink by aggregating three spectrum bands. T-Mobile had launched LTE-Advanced technology in 2014, combining mobile spectrum in the 800 MHz and 1800 MHz bands. The telco had initially launched its commercial LTE service in October 2013.
