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.
America Movil Partners with Appia for the launch of ‘iApps’ (Latin America)
Wireless service provider America Movil, has announced the launch of its iApps Application Stores powered by Appia, bringing a vast catalog of apps and games to all America Movil subscribers across Latin America. According to company reports, the iApps Application Stores are now available through America Movil’s operating partners Claro, Comcel, and Telcel reaching over 240 million mobile subscribers in 18 countries across Latin America including Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.
Marco Quatorze, Director of Value Added Services, America Movil, has said that with the launch of the Application Stores powered by Appia to all America Movil subscribers, Apps are now available to the majority of Latin American Mobile subscribers. Further, Appia’s carrier-grade solution enabled them to quickly roll out the largest Application Store across Latin America.
Appia’s Application Catalog includes thousands of applications and games for Android, BlackBerry, Symbian, and Java phones. The iApps Application Stores include both paid and free applications such as social media, news, weather and sports apps in Spanish, English and Portuguese. Leading application developers including Rovio and Gameloft are distributing their app through the iApps Application store, along with internationally recognized application developers including Facebook, Electronic Arts, and MocoSpace.
Lukasz Deszczulka, Executive VP Marketing, Tequila Mobile, has said that America Movil’s iApps Application Stores have been a great source of traffic for them. Also, the Latin American apps market is growing rapidly, and Appia and America Movil have made it incredibly easy to reach users and generate downloads.
Jud Bowman, CEO, Appia, has said that Appia is excited to partner with America Movil to bring apps to the hundreds of millions of mobile subscribers in North, Central and South America. As app use continues to grow globally, Latin American is a phenomenal opportunity for application distribution and we expect tremendous growth in app consumption.
Digicel completes acquisition of Claro (Jamaica)
Digicel, a leading mobile telecommunications operator in the Caribbean, has completed the acquisition of America Movil’s Jamaican unit, Claro. According to reports, the operators entered into an agreement wherein Digicel would acquire Claro and sell its assets in Honduras and El Salvador to America Movil.
As per sources, Digicel will reduce the calling charges by US$ 0.035 during peak hours and US$ 0.023 during off-peak hours, across its networks. Further,the acquisition will provide Digicel with 3G access in its domestic market. If sources are to be believed, Digicel is expected to receive a net payment of as much as US$ 350 million in cash for this deal.
Digicel-Claro deal receives official nod (Jamaica)
Prime Minister Bruce Golding has given permission for the acquisition of Claro by leading Jamaican mobile operator Digicel. Sources claim that Digicel will acquire the Claro network and spectrum capabilities without any modification to the licenses and the obligations contained in it. According to reports, the deal entered into, enables Digicel to acquire 100 per cent of Claro’s shares in exchange for cash and ownership of some of Digicel’s Central American operations
However, this deal has raised certain concerns, especially regarding the power Digicell will have over the Jamaican mobile market. With Cable and Wireless, as the sole competitor, this acquisition is expected to have a significant impact on the level of competition in the Jamaican mobile market.
Telmex to rebrand as Claro in Ecuador
America Movil is all set to rebrand its Ecuador fixed-line unit Telmex as Claro.
The re-branding decision is part of a strategy being implemented by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim across America Movil’s subsidiaries in the region.
America Movil currently operates under the Claro brand name in 14 Lain American countries. America Movil recently rebranded its Ecuador mobile unit as Claro.
According to the company, the use of the Claro brand name does not include a merger of the two companies, as both continue to operate independently in their respective businesses.
Conecel rebrands as Claro in Ecuador
An America Movil subsidiary, Conecel has officially stopped using the Porta brand name in Ecuador. As per the latest reports, the company will only operate under the Claro brand name.
America Movil currently operates under the Claro brand name in 14 Lain American countries. Conecel is also planning to introduce the new Claro logo in all its customer service centres by end-March and in all its sales points by end-April. Claro has over 70,000 sales points across Ecuador.
LIME wants regulator to assess Digicel-Claro deal (Jamaica)
LIME Jamaica has stated that given the significance of the Digicel- Claro merger to the Jamaican telecommunications industry, the Government, the Office of Utilities Regulations (OUR) and the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) should carefully assess the deal, before approval is given by the relevant minister.
Digicel and Claro last week announced that Digicel would sell its businesses in El Salvador and Honduras to America Movil, while in turn Claro Jamaica would be sold to Digicel.
According to Lime’s Managing Director, Garry Sinclair, as a company proudly serving Jamaica for over 140 years, providing employment for more than 1,400 Jamaican workers and with almost 25,000 Jamaican shareholders, they stand ready to cooperate with all industry players to ensure the interests of their country and the Jamaican consumer are best served.
Viettel wins Peru fixed wireless license
The Vietnamese company Viettel Group is all set to provide fixed mobile services in Peru through an award in which it undertook to provide free Internet services to more than four thousand schools.
The official announcement of the award shows that the company will operate the 1,900 MHz C-band and will compete with existing companies, Claro, Movistar and Nextel.
The Vietnamese company agreed to pay US$27 million for use of the band and will invest US$150 million to develop the necessary infrastructure for their services.
According to the Deputy General Director of Viettel Global, Quang Nguyen, the company will start services by the end of the year.
