TIM Brasil is facing yet another difficulty. The Brazilian telecom regulator, Anatel, has suspended sales of TIM’s “Infinity Day” plan, a new promotion that offers unlimited local calls for U.S.$0.24 (R$0.50) per day. Anatel cited potential instability in the mobile service support network as well as damage to service quality for general users of the new plan.
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TIM has been offering the Infinity Day plan in 18 Brazilian states since November 11. If TIM fails to comply with Anatel’s decision, it will face fines of U.S.$97,000 (R$200,000) per day for each state where the plan is offered.
Anatel said TIM was suspended because TIM did not submit the offer to the regulator for evaluation. Now, the operator will have to submit a complementary study within 30 days that proves it has the network capacity for the promotion.
In a statement, TIM said it that this initiative was included in the improvement plan Anatel approved in August, after the watchdog agency suspended TIM, Claro and Oi from selling new mobile lines. Earlier this year, the carrier not only had its sales banned by Anatel but was also accused of deliberately dropping calls. Both events damaged its reputation.
“TIM made the decision to launch the offer for an initial period of two months in certain parts of the country (18 areas), representing approximately 20% of our universe of users, in places where there are opportunities for growth and infrastructure with high capacity,” the carrier said in a statement.
TIM claims that there is no potential for network instability, which was proven during the trial period. “The Infinity Day plan already had a testing area in Rio Grande do Sul without causing any instability in the network,” the carrier wrote. The company also noted that other mobile operators currently offer regional promotions that are “much more aggressive than the Infinity Day plan and continue to market them, usually without having been suspended for not evaluating the potential impact on the network.”
