Anatel to amend legislation in bid to stimulate MVNO sector

Brazil’s national telecoms regulator Anatel is looking to amend the rules governing the domestic market for mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) in a bid to bolster competition in the sector, BNAmericas reports local press as saying. Changes under consideration include the possibility of allowing registered MVNOs to secure other deals in the same geographical area where they are already licensed. Further, Anatel also intends to rule that mobile network operators (MNOs) make it clear via their websites ‘the terms of the wholesale prices being charged to virtual operators’. Finally, the watchdog is also considering a proposal to allow the local association of telecoms resellers (which includes MVNOs and other telcos that share networks) to pay their requisite monitoring fees by instalment. Anatel intends to put the planned changes out to public consultation for 30 days as it looks to stimulate a sector that has so far failed to take off. Despite passing rules to allow virtual resellers in 2010, to date just two MVNOs – Porto Seguro and Vodafone Brasil (formerly Datora Mobile) – are active in the country.