MIAMI – The Brazilian unit of Telecom Italia is preparing the launch of its ultra high-speed broadband service using VDSL networks. Branded with an English name, ‘Live TIM’ has been in trials since May 7 and it is expected to be unveiled during this year third-quarter.

The service will be first available in the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, following TIM Brazil’s 2011 acquisition of AES Atimus, which operated a 5,500-kilometer fiber-optic network in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and other major Brazilian cities.

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Flavio Lang, chief marketing officer at TIM Brazil, explained that the telecom operator has chosen to use VDSL instead of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) due to its low broadband speed consumption. The average fixed broadband speed contracted in Brazil is about 2 Mbps per month, he said. Lang spoke at Amdocs InTouch event in Miami.

“The whole market will become more mature, but today the speed is low,” Lang said. “In addition, fiber optic deployment is more complex [than using copper pair cables].” The low broadband service Arpu is another carrier’s concern; in Brazil it costs about $35.

Speaking about FTTH, Lang said TIM Brazil has been connecting sites and antennas with fiber. The fiber backhaul project will be deployed across 12 main cities (major state capitals).

Lang also unveiled that TIM Brazil does not envision launching payTV services. “We decided it would be better to partner with Sky Brazil than to allocate Capex to launch payTV services. It is not an attractive market for those who are starting.”

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Amdocs provided travel expenses to this event.