Brazil launches 4G wireless service with few smartphone options

Sergio Spagnuolo – Reuters/Yahoo News, 04/17/2013

As Brazil rushes to introduce a blazing-fast fourth-generation wireless network before the 2014 World Cup, fewer than a dozen compatible smartphones will be available in stores, compared with the hundreds of models on sale worldwide.

And the phones will be operational in a just few cities at first.

The launch of 4G services is crucial for Brazil to modernize its thinly stretched telecommunications infrastructure and ease the burden on 3G networks, which currently support over 68 million data users, according to regulator Anatel.

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Brazil’s Anatel orders Tim to suspend infinity day promotion

Matthew Malinowski, Telma Marrotto – Bloomberg Businessweek, 11/16/2012

Brazil’s telecommunication regulator Anatel ordered Tim Participacoes SA (TIT) to suspend its Infinity Day Promotion because of concerns over its quality of service.

The Infinity Day Promotion consists of unlimited calls at a fixed price for 24 hours between telephones operated by Tim. The company said it disagrees with Anatel decision as there is no evidence of “any potential of network instability,” according to an e-mailed statement.

Tim executives “are ready for a clarification meeting with Anatel in Brasilia,” the company said in the statement. Shares fell 3.7 percent to 7.72 reais in Sao Paulo, the second-worst performer among members of the benchmark Bovespa index.

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Brazil’s TIM faces new government scrutiny over science

Sergio Spagnuolo – Reuters, 11/16/20123

Brazilian telecom regulator Anatel on Friday ordered TIM Participacoes, the nation’s No. 2 wireless carrier, to stop selling a flat-rate promotional plan with unlimited calls per day because of concerns about service quality.

It was the latest in a series of regulatory setbacks for the Brazilian unit of Telecom Italia. In July, Anatel banned TIM’s sales in 19 states for nearly two weeks until the company presented an investment plan to improve service.

TIM started selling its “Infinity Day” promotion on Monday, allowing customers to make unlimited local phone calls within the carrier’s network for a flat daily rate of 0.50 real ($0.24) and unlimited long-distance calls for an additional 0.50 real a day.

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HTC pulls out of Brazil

Jenny Hsu and Aries Poon – The Wall Street Journal, 06/23/2012

TAIPEI—HTC Corp. 2498.TW -2.91% said Saturday it is closing its office in São Paulo, which mainly oversaw sales and distribution in Latin America, as the Taiwanese smartphone maker faces growing headwinds amid intensifying competition from rivals at different price points.

Analysts said HTC’s pullout of Brazil is in line with the company’s strategy of focusing on other emerging markets such as China and India, where the mid- to high-price customer segments—HTC’s primary markets—have more room for growth and where the Taiwanese brand is better known.

Brazil is one of the world’s fastest-growing smartphone markets, driven by a wide range of low-cost devices, considerable handset subsidies from network operators and dominance of prepaid packages that cost consumers a lot less than postpaid deals.

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China Telecom and China Communications to expand business in Brazil and Latin America

TT Correspondent, 06/12/2012

China Telecom and China ComService are planning to expand their business in Brazil and Latin America. Both the companies announced their plans through a corporate seminar and opening ceremony held on Monday in Sao Paulo, Brazil which was attended by over 100 guests including government officials, business partners, and senior executives from local Brazilian and Chinese multinational companies.

China and Brazil are two of the most influential forces among the world’s developing nations. Both countries have strong and ever-increasing business ties. Chinese investment in Brazil was over $9 billion (R$18.5billion) in 2011, while dozens of Brazilian companies mainly in the industries of iron, oil and gas, mining and mechanical engineering have investment in China. Since 2009, China had become Brazil’s biggest trading partner. Brazil’s total trade with China was $77.1billion (R$158.5billion) in 2011.

China Telecom and China ComService said they are collaborating to better serve the needs of global enterprises and carriers in Brazil, and across the rest of Latin America. The newly established subsidiaries, China Telecom do Brazil and China.

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Brazil’s Oi profit drops, trims investments

Sergio Spagnuolo and Brad Haynes - Reuters, 10/27/2011

Grupo Oi , Brazil’s biggest telecom group, said on Thursday that it would trim investments after third-quarter profit fell from a year ago and revenue was lower due to declining fixed-line subscribers.

Stiff competition has pressured profit margins and net income, which fell 21 percent in the third quarter from a year ago to 426 million reais (US$249 million). The Rio de Janeiro-based company was created in 2009 by a government-planned merger to take on foreign rivals.

After posting its quarterly results, Chief Financial Officer Alex Zornig told reporters the company would miss this year’s investment target of 5 billion by as much as 500 million reais, as some suppliers have not met contracts.

EXCLUSIVE-Brazil seeks $3.25 bln tax break for telecoms

Brian Winters – Reuters, 09/30/2011

Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff will propose 6 billion reais ($3.25 billion) in tax breaks over the next five years for the construction of telecommunications networks, in an effort to keep the sector booming despite the global financial crisis.

“The government is making an effort to improve the conditions for investment … and reduce the effects of the crisis,” Communications Minister Paulo Bernardo told Reuters in an interview on Friday.

Bernardo said Rousseff would send a proposal outlining the tax breaks to Congress within the next 30 days.

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