2017 Brazil - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Brazil’s investment in LTE sees subscriber base reach 100 million

The Brazilian telecom market has been adversely affected by the country’s economic difficulties in recent years. The fixed-line sector has seen consumers substituting services for mobile and VoIP solutions, while the number of mobile subscribers has fallen steadily as competitive pricing and regulatory measures have weakened the demand for customers to have multiple SIM cards.

Brazil is connected through submarine cables to the USA, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. A number of new cable systems are due to come into service by the end of 2018 which will increase bandwidth and push down broadband prices for end-users. The government has entrusted the state-owned Telebrás with the construction of the Atlantic Cable System (ACSea) cable network linking Brazil with the USA, Europe, Africa, and several Latin American countries. Telebrás has also been charged with building a satellite to be used for military communications and to boost the country’s national broadband program.

The bulk of the fixed-line market is divided between three our key operators: Telefónica, América Móvil and Oi.

Brazil has one of the largest mobile markets in Latin America, with four major mobile operators offering a range of voice and data services: Telefónica’s Vivo, Claro Brasil, TIM Brasil, and Oi. All four operators have secured spectrum in the 2.5GHz band with which they are expanding their LTE networks to capitalise on consumer demand for mobile data services. The government has also made available the 700MHz band (previously allocated to TV broadcasters) for mobile broadband use.

The mobile subscriber base grew rapidly for a number of years, in line with the increasing footprint of mobile networks, but since late 2015 the subscriber base has fallen steadily. This has partly been due to operators cancelling dormant SIM cards, as also to pricing competition which eroded the need among some consumers to hold SIM cards from different providers so take advantage of cheaper on-net offers. Another factor has been the economic recession, which has dampened consumer spend on telecom services.

Brazil also has one of the largest broadband markets in Latin America. Substantial investments and regulatory reforms were implemented before the FIFA World Cup was held in 2014 and again before the 2016 Olympic Games. The Games stimulated investment in infrastructure, though the chief beneficiaries were the host cities rather than the country at large. This telecom infrastructure is one of the positive legacies of the Games.

This report provides a background to Brazil’s telecom market including details of infrastructure and the regulatory environment. It profiles the main fixed-line operators and provides relevant statistics and market analyses. The report also covers the broadband market, accompanied by subscriber forecasts to 2022. In addition the report reviews the mobile voice and data markets and assesses regulatory measures and emerging technologies.

Key developments:

• Oi creditors agree on restructuring plan;
• ACSea submarine cable linking Brazil and Europe contracted by Telebrás and IslaLink;
• Seabras-1 cable to provide direct route between the US and Brazil;
• Nextel aiming to close down its iDEN network in March 2018;
• Algar Telecom launches LTE-A services;
• EU and Brazil sign cooperation agreement to develop 5G technologies;
• Ericsson contracted by América Móvil to pave a path to 5G;
• LTE subscriber approaches 100 million at end-2017;
• Oi and Banco do Brazil launch an NFC-based m-payment platform;
• Government approves an additional R$15.1 billion for National Broadband Plan;
• Net Serviços launches a 500Mb/s service for the residential market;
• More operators launch FttP services;
• Report update includes telcos’ operating and financial data to Q3 2017, regulator’s market data to November 2017, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

Vivo (Telefônica Brasil), TIM Brasil, Oi, Embratel, Net Serviços, GVT, CTBC, Global Crossing, Star One, TelesatBrasil, Hispamar, Telebrás, Claro, Intelig, Algar Telecom, Sercomtel, Nextel Brasil, Universo Online (UOL), Neovia, Eletropaulo Telecom, Copel, BuscaPé.