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Wireless Federation » archive for 'TIM Brasil'

BNDES gives green signal to fund TIM Brasil worth USD779 mln (Brazil)

  • October 3rd, 2008
  • 11:30 am

The board of Brazil’s national development bank BNDES approves a loan of USD779 million for domestic mobile operator TIM Brasil, media reported. according to BNDES the funding would be used to underpin the operator’s investment plans for the period 2009 to 2013. This loan will be repaid to the bank within the span of 5 years. This fund will be used for

  • IT investments
  • Network modernisation and expansion (including 3G deployment)
  • Capacity expansion work
  • Systems optimisation and related customer services
  • Business processes

Telecom Italia lowers group sales target at EUR 30.5 billion (Italy)

  • August 11th, 2008
  • 11:22 am

Telecom Italia, Italy, has sought to lower it’s full year outlook reason being slower sales in Brazil and Germany. TIM Brasil has cut down it’s sales growth outlook to 7%, from its estimate of 9% in May. 

Hansenet, Germany, forecasts annual sales of EUR 1.2 billion, down from an earlier outlook for EUR 1.3 billion.

Telecom Italia puts group sales target now at EUR 30.4-30.5 billion, in contrast to its previous estimate of EUR 31 billion, while the EBITDA margin forecast drops half a point to 38.0 percent.

   

8 Brazilian operators team up to develop IM services (Brazil)

  • August 6th, 2008
  • 2:10 pm

Eight Brazilian mobile operators, Vivo, TIM Brasil, Claro, Oi, Brasil Telecom, Sercomtel, Nextel, and CTBC Telecom Celular, are reportedly functioning together to develop and launch IM services nationwide.
Under the service the subscribers can exchange messages with users on each other’s network.

   

Brazil: 128 million active mobile lines at the end of April

  • May 21st, 2008
  • 2:27 pm

Brazilian telecoms regulator Anatel, the country had 128 million active mobile lines at the end of April 2008. of the total, 80.9% were pre-paid and 19.1% on monthly contracts. A net new 1.9 million lines were added in April, up 1.54% on the previous month and 22.5% up on April 2007, lifting cellular penetration to 66.84 active mobile lines per 100 inhabitants, the watchdog said. BNamericas reports that the highest mobile teledensity was recorded in Distrito Federal with 123 active lines per 100 inhabitants, followed by the Rio de Janeiro state, with 83.3 lines, and the Mato Grosso do Sul state with 81.3 lines.

In terms of mobile market share, Vivo still leads the way with 27.2%, albeit that the figure is down 0.08 percentage points compared to February. TIM Brasil claimed second place with a 25.9% market share, followed by America Movil’s Claro unit with 24.8%. Telemar’s Oi increased its share of subscribers by 0.18% to 14% by end-April, while fifth-spot was shared by sister cellcos Telemig Celular and Amazonia Celular with 4.22% (down from 4.29% a month earlier). Brasil Telecom improved its position marginally by 0.02% to 3.66%, CTBC Telecom Celular’s share decreased from 0.31% to 0.30% and Sercomtel Celular remained stable at 0.06%.

The most popular technology in Brazil continues to be GSM, accounting for 106 million lines, or 82.7% of the total, at 30 April 2008. CDMA accounted for a further 18 million lines (14.2%), TDMA, 3.9 million (3.09%), and AMPS analogue technology had just 12,239 lines (0.01%).

   
 

Mobile operators sign contracts for 3G licences (Brazil)

  • May 1st, 2008
  • 3:10 pm

Following the successful conclusion of its 3G auction in December 2007, Brazil’s telecoms regulator Anatel and a number of the country’s mobile operators have signed contracts for rights to offer UMTS services in the country in the 2100MHz band, reports BNamericas citing an Anatel statement. With the contracts in place, the 3G licensees will be expected to provide mobile broadband internet services to more than 3,800 municipalities within eight years. By 2010 the 3G operators will also be required to deliver mobile telephony to 1,836 municipalities, which currently do not have access to these services, benefiting some 17 million people. The 3G licences are valid for 15 years, with an option to renew for a similar term, and under Anatel’s rules operators must cover all state capitals, the Distrito Federal and cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants with 3G within two years. By the end of year four, 3G must be available in all municipalities with more than 200,000 inhabitants it said, rising to 50% after five years in all municipalities with a population of between 30,000 and 100,000. In the same period 100% of the municipalities above 100,000 will have the service. After eight years, at least 60% of municipalities with less than 30,000 inhabitants must have access to the technology.

TIM Brasil has wasted no time in announcing its 3G rollout plans. From 1 May it intends to offer 3G services in the 2100MHz band in the cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. It has already launched 3G services at 850MHz in Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Florianopolis, Fortaleza, Recife and Salvador. TIM expects to expand the service quickly to other main metropolitan areas. Not to be outdone, Telecoms Americas (Claro), which has also rolled out 3G at 850MHz, announced the launch of its 3G operations on 30 April on the back of a recent BRL2 billion (USD1.17 billion) CAPEX programme for its 2G and 3G infrastructure networks in 2008.

   
 

TIM Brasil launches 3G in six state capitals; awards Ericsson deal for W-CDMA/HSPA kit

  • April 17th, 2008
  • 2:49 pm

TIM Brasil has launched 3G networks in six Brazilian state capitals - Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Florianopolis, Fortaleza, Recife and Salvador – using frequencies in the 850MHz band, writes BNamericas. The operator expects to expand the offering to other large cities as soon as regulator Anatel delivers the licences it won in December in the 2100MHz band. ‘As soon as we have Anatel’s authorisation, we will launch 3G in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia, as well as in other large cities of the country. We expect to have all the state capitals covered by the end of this year,’ TIM Brasil president Mario Cesar Araujo said. 3G services are being offered free of charge until the end of June, after which TV content (eleven channels) will cost BRL3.99 (USD2.39) per 30 minutes. Video calls will be charged as regular voice calls.

In a separate but related story Ericsson has been selected by TIM to provide a W-CDMA/HSPA network covering eight states across Brazil. Under the agreement, Ericsson will be the sole supplier of a 2G/3G common core network and the main supplier of a radio access network in the Brazilian states of Acre, Distrito Federal, Goias, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rondonia, Sao Paulo and Tocantins. The upgrade of TIM’s existing 2G (GSM/GPRS/EDGE) network with HSPA functionality will – according to the press release - enable a smooth and efficient introduction of high-speed 3G (W-CDMA/HSPA) services. Ericsson will also provide services, including network and technology consulting, network design, network deployment and systems integration of end user service platforms and applications.

   
 

TIM Brasil net loss widens, adds 1.7 mln customers (Brazil)

  • November 8th, 2007
  • 2:01 pm

Brazilian mobile operator TIM increased its net loss in the third quarter to BRL 121.8 million compared to BRL 93.8 million a year earlier. Its EBITDA fell 4.9 percent to BRL 547.3 million. The firm said EBITDA was hit by one-off bad debt expenses in the quarter from the write-off on accounts from handset sales in instalments. Without the one-off debt, EBITDA would have been BRL 720.5 million, a 25.3 percent rise. TIM added 1.7 million customers in the quarter to count 29.2 million at the end of September. A total of 22.6 percent of customers were on a contract. ARPU was BRL 34.

   

Telecom America (Claro) to invest USD1.1 billion in 2008 (Brazil)

  • October 25th, 2007
  • 1:57 pm

America Movil’s Brazilian mobile unit Telecom America (Claro) plans to invest upwards of BRL2 billion (USD1.1 billion) in its networks and services, reports Reuters quoting the Mexican parent’s boss Carlos Slim. ‘Claro is investing a lot, increasing its capacity, its national presence. Above all now, in the third generation, investments are very important’, he said. Claro held a 24.8% share of the domestic mobile market at the end of September, behind Vivo, a joint venture between Telefonica and Portugal Telecom, and TIM Brasil, Telecom Italia’s Brazilian subsidiary.

   

 

Anatel approves Telefonica, Telecom Italia acquisition (Brazil)

  • October 24th, 2007
  • 12:10 pm

Brazilian telecom regulator Anatel has approved the acqusition of part of Telecom Italia by a consortium made up of Telefonica and Italian banks. The regulator requested that, within six months time, Telefonica and Telecom Italia present a new shareholders agreement that guarantees “total disassociation” between the operations of mobile telephony operator Vivo, controlled by Telefonica and Portugal Telecom, and TIM Brasil, which belongs to the Italian group. Anatel established that, as a result of the operation, Telefonica could become a monopoly in the mobile sector, as Vivo and TIM hold, jointly, more than 50 percent of the national market. Each of the operators will have to maintain an independent management, with separate boards of directors.

   

TIM Brasil moves to net profit in Q2

  • July 24th, 2007
  • 2:26 pm

Mobile operator TIM Brasil moved to a net profit of BRL 34 million in the second quarter, reversing a loss of BRL 247 million in the year-earlier period. Net revenues at the company jumped 34.5 percent from a year ago to BRL 3.06 billion, and EBITDA rose 44.2 percent to BRL 743.7 million. Results were helped by subscriber growth, higher ARPU and a reduction in subscriber acquisition costs as the company rationalised its sales channels. TIM added 1.172 million new subscribers in the quarter, a slowdown from Q1 growth due to a policy to reduce subsidies on prepaid handsets. The operator had 27.5 million customers at the end of June, up 23 percent from a year earlier. Postpaid customers made up 22 percent of the total. Average revenue per user rose 0.7 percent from the first quarter to BRL 34.6, while subscriber acquisition costs fell 33 percent from a year earlier to BRL 113. The company spent BRL 323.5 million during the quarter on capital equipment and network expansion.