Brazil adds 2.2 million subscribers in April (Brazil)

Brazil added 2.2 million new subscribers in the month of April, representing an increase of 0.86 percent compared to March 2012. 3G terminals (mobile broadband) totaled 54.3 million hits, as reported by telecommunications regulator Anatel.

As per a report by DJN, TIM Participacoes SA added the most subscribers in the month, with 37 percent of net additions, far above second-placed Oi SA with 23 percent. Telefonica Brasil SA was third, with 22 percent of total additions, and Claro, the local unit of Mexico’s America Movil SA (was fourth with 16 percent.

Further, Telefonica, part of Spain’s Telefonica SA, was still the largest operator overall, with nearly 30 percent market share. TIM, a unit of Telecom Italia SpA was second with 27 percent, Claro was third with 24 percent and Oi had 19 percent.

Brazil plans LTE auction in June 2012 (Brazil)

Brazil plans to auction spectrum in the 450MHz and 2.5GHz bandwidth on June 10 in an attempt to launch upgraded broadband technologies. According to reports, telecom operators TIM Brasil and Vivo had initially opposed the auction citing that it is too soon after the 3G rollout.

However, the regulator aims to hold the auction soon so as to ensure rollout of 4G services in time for the 2014 soccer World Cup. As per reports, operators winning the 2.5GHz spectrum will be required to launch their services by the end of 2013, in all the cities hosting the FIFA World Cup.

The operators expected to participate in the bidding are rumoured to include Claro, Oi and Nextel Brasil, along with TIM Brasil and Vivo.

TIM Brasil partners with Amdocs for Customer Experience Systems (Brazil)

Amdocs, the leading provider of customer experience systems, has announced that TIM Brasil, the second largest mobile service provider in Brazil, has selected the Amdocs CES (Customer Experience Systems) product portfolio and a range of Amdocs consulting, integration and implementation services for its new TIM Fiber residential broadband service.

Amdocs will speed time-to-market for TIM Fiber broadband services by providing the business support systems (BSS) and operational support systems (OSS) required to deliver these services.  TIM’s new broadband offering follows its 2011 acquisition of AES Atimus, which operated a 5,000-kilometer fiber-optic network in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and other major Brazilian cities.  Amdocs is also providing the strategic business-process consulting that will allow TIM Brasil to rapidly integrate the Atimus network and begin delivering broadband services less than 12 months after the acquisition.

Luigi Longarini, chief information officer of TIM Brasil, said that following their acquisition of Atimus’ fiber-optic network last year, they knew that they needed to move quickly to consolidate their network into TIM and rapidly offer the broadband services customers are demanding. He added that they selected Amdocs for TIM Fiber based on the results the two companies have already achieved working together on the B/OSS transformation project announced last year.  In addition, they are using Amdocs’ consulting and implementation services in order to ensure a seamless rollout of this new broadband service.

Rebecca Prudhomme, Amdocs vice president for product and solutions marketing, has said that Amdocs solutions will enable dynamic pricing bundles, rapid service creation and activation, and responsive customer service, while also helping TIM achieve greater operational efficiencies.

As prime contractor, Amdocs will serve as systems integrator for its own solutions and those of up to 30 other vendors, performing a wide range of services including end-to-end program management, SI (systems integration) testing and user training to ensure the entire system works seamlessly.  The TIM Fiber initiative extends Amdocs’ relationship with TIM Brasil as announced in February and September 2011.

China to become the largest smartphone market in 2012 (Asia)

Smartphone shipments to emerging markets will drive growth in the worldwide smartphone market in the years ahead. According to a report by the IDC, China will become the leading country-level market for smartphone shipments in 2012, moving ahead of the current leader, the United States. Looking ahead to 2016, two additional emerging markets, India and Brazil, will enter the top 5 country markets for smartphone shipments.

Analysts say that due to their sheer size, strong demand, and healthy replacement rates, emerging markets are quickly becoming the engines of the worldwide smartphone market. Users in emerging markets seek more than simple voice telephony, and smartphones offer the ideal platform for mobile entertainment, social networking, and business usage as seen in developed markets.

Meanwhile, mature markets, such as Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, will experience continued growth in smartphone adoption, but volumes will not keep up with those destined for emerging markets.

At the same time, smartphone growth within emerging markets presents its challenges. Further, the total cost of ownership remains a hurdle for potential smartphone buyers. Smartphones still represent a significant investment for consumers in many countries.

This fact was acknowledged by a number of industry executives at the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, who stressed the need for low-cost devices – as low as sub-US$50 – to spur widespread adoption. Another notable barrier to adoption is the cost of a monthly data plan. To realize the full potential of emerging markets, smartphone vendors need to develop low-cost smartphones that provide a full, robust experience while mobile operators will need to creatively subsidize device cost and data plans.