SINGAPORE — Live TIM, the fiber optic broadband Internet service of Brazilian operator TIM, is set to launch fixed-telephony services by the beginning of next year. According to TIM chief marketing officer, Flavio Lang, the service will focus initially on residential clients and will be sold separately from the current broadband offering, which is different from the “combos” that several other carriers sell.
Speaking with members of the press during this year’s Amdocs InTouch event, Lang said that Live TIM will unveil special Internet broadband packages focused on the small and medium firms by next month. Currently, businesses of this size are offered the same packages as residential users.
Lang said about 20% of the operator’s sales are made to the corporate market, but he did not reveal the percentage that the company hopes to achieve by expanding its offering. TIM’s parent company Intelig will remain focused on large accounts.
For now, Live TIM will remain concentrated in the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro but will add cities to the current coverage.
Telefónica consolidation: Phil Jordan, CIO of the Telefónica group, detailed the current stage of the company’s Brazilian and Argentinian IT consolidation. The group is working to integrate each country’s systems from different operations, such as mobile, fixed, TV and broadband.
As Jordan noted, about 40% of Brazil’s IT systems are integrated. The company still has to consolidate the billing and provisioning systems. In Argentina, however, the work started in November with the first phase set to finish in a year. “We are becoming a more digital company. The transformation is in progress,” Jordan said, noting that IT enables the move toward a more digital Telefónica.
More Latin American news:
- ESET announced that 58% of Latin American smartphone users store passwords on their devices. According to the security firm, the passwords are for email, social media, paid services and Internet banking.
- With data traffic growing rapidly in Chile, investments in NGN networks will continue to offer opportunities for vendors in the 3G, long term evolution (LTE), fiber and cable segments, according to a new report from Pyramid Research.
- The Brazilian carrier Oi said that it has surpassed 100,000 hotspots Wi-Fi across the country. The expansion is the result of the carrier’s partnership with Spanish FON.
- Mexican telecommunications company Maxcom is seeking to negotiate new capital and a restructuring through a so-called prepackaged bankruptcy process in U.S. courts.
- Colombia is preparing to hold its LTE auction on June 26. DirecTV Colombia, Avantel, Unión Temporal Colombia Móvil-ETB, Claro, Movistar and Azteca Comunicaciones have met the conditions and general requirements. The auction includes 225 MHz of spectrum in the 1.9 GHz band, 1.7-2.1 GHz and 2.5 GHz.
Amdocs provided travel costs to this InTouch event.
Be sure not to miss what’s happening in Latin America’s wireless markets. Check out RCR Wireless News wrap ups.
