Telecommunications & Information Technology

The Bill of Law No. 79 of 2016, which established a new regulatory framework for the telecommunications sector in Brazil, was sanctioned without vetoes by President Jair Bolsonaro. The Law No. 13,879 entered into force on October 4, 2019.

The new telecommunications framework allows the fixed telephone concessionaires to adapt their agreements from a concession regime to an authorization regime. This change of concession to authorization must be requested by the concessionaire and it should be approved by the Brazilian National Telecommunications Agency (ANATEL). In return, concessionaires must, among other conditions, make investment commitments to expand their fixed broadband services, in special in areas without adequate competition for these services in order to minimize gaps and inequalities between Brazilian areas.

Note that the proceedings for adapting the concession for authorization regime, as well as the definition of the criteria for calculating investment commitments, still need to be regulated by the Federal Government and ANATEL.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.