Brazilian regional telecoms service provider Sercomtel this month launched an ultra-high speed 200Mbps broadband service via optical fibre in Londrina, complementing its portfolio of products in the city where it has been offering a 100Mbps service since May 2011. The carrier says the new ‘200 mega’ service will cost between BRL499.9 and BRL539.9 (USD220.4 and USD286.0) per month, depending on the plan chosen by the customer; a BRL150 installation fee also applies and customers can also choose a 150Mbps option. Commenting on the product launch, Sercomtel marketing director Agnaldo Cesar Aversani said: ‘Now we have to provide our customers the highest speed offered in the domestic market,’ adding that high speed broadband is an increasingly imperative need for its subscribers. The telco’s new broadband offer is being supplied via Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) technology which delivers voice and data through fibre-optics. The technology also supports a wide range of diverse applications and services such as video, high-definition (HD) multimedia, IPTV, on-demand services and online games. Finally, Sercomtel notes that as its GPON coverage does not reach the entire city, interested customer must check on the availability of the service before signing up.
In a related announcement, Sercomtel says it is launching colocation and web hosting services for corporate users via its new data centre. The new installation is designed for servers, data storage systems (storage arrays) and active networks (switches and routers), and according to Sercomtel, ensures full availability to accommodate devices that run business-critical systems of a company, such as ERP and CRM. Aversani notes that the data centre market is growing quickly in Brazil as companies increasingly require appropriate infrastructure for their IT equipment.
Finally, the regional operator has reportedly taken the decision to liquidate its cable TV businesses Adatel Osasco (based in Sao Paulo) and Adatel Sao Jose (in Santa Catarina), having failed to auction them off earlier this year. As reported by CommsUpdate, in May Sercomtel decided to postpone the planned auction, after one of the potential bidders, Net Servicos, requested the delay without giving any reasons. The other firm believed to be lining up to bid for the cable TV operators was Viacom-backed Blue Interactive Group. Sercomtel had hoped that the sale of the two cablecos would raise in the region of BRL20 million; Adatel Osasco has a reported 10,400 pay-TV and 12,100 internet subscribers (it owns a 450km coaxial cable network that covers 39% of the municipalities in its franchise), while the second firm has roughly 8,400 cable TV users and 8,997 internet accounts (it owns a 212km coaxial cable network, covering 43.7% of municipalities in its franchise area).