Brazil's Telebras can now deliver broadband services

Telebras, Brazil's state-run service provider, has received permission from the country's telecom regulator Anatel to provide broadband services to consumers and business.

Anatel decided to issue Telebras a Multimedia Communication Service (SCM) license as part of the Brazil government's National Broadband Plan (PNBL). Under the PNBL, the government wants to expand broadband service to 68 percent of homes by 2014.

As defined by the Brazilian government, consumers would be able to get a 512 Kbps connection for BRL15 (US$9) a, while a 784 Kbps connection would cost about BRL35 (US$20) a month.

Given the capital dollars that would be required to make its build out targets, Telebras will need some assistance. Telebras, which earlier this year had to cut its budget from BRL1 billion (US$595 million) to BRL590 million, may get some government funding to reach its goal of bringing broadband services to 1,163 cities and towns over two years.

Of course, even as Telebras reaches its broadband goals, it will have to find a way to differentiate beyond price to compete against competitors such as GVT and Telefonica Brazil.  

For more:
- TeleGeography has this article

Related articles:
Brazil plots out national broadband plan
Brazil's Anatel puts kibosh on forced phone/data bundling
Brazil's GVT reaches 1 million broadband subscriber mark
Telefonica Brazil achieves 3 million broadband subscribers milestone

Click here for a copy of our eBook, Latin America's Next Generation Markets