Brazil. The National Telecommunications Agency, Anatel, celebrated its 23rd anniversary in Brasilia. The President of the Agency, Leonardo de Morais, highlighted the challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and the positive responses of the telecommunications sector, especially the Agency.
"Anatel chose to follow a collaborative construction path with service providers. The commitment signed in March between the Agency and the companies is based on axes aimed at preserving the functioning of the services; special support for health and public safety services; address consumer difficulties and inform the population."
The virtual ceremony was attended by the Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Communications (MC), Vitor Elísio Menezes, the President of the Agency, Leonardo de Morais, the directors of Anatel Emmanoel Campelo, Moisés Moreira, Carlos Baigorri and Abraão Balbino and the former Director Vicente Aquino, who yesterday ended his term as counselor.
Morais presented a summary of the main actions carried out in 2020, including the first Conduct Adjustment Commitment Agreement (TAC), which represents the beginning of the investment of hundreds of millions of reais in the expansion of 4G mobile broadband coverage in the country, focused on hundreds of municipalities with less than 30 thousand inhabitants in the North and Northeast Regions; the new Licensing and Concessions regulation, which also coincided with adjustments to the spectrum use regulation; the "regulatory guillotine", which overturned rules that are anachronistic; the reduction of barriers to the expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine-to-Machine communications, essential for the development of various sectors of our economy; and advances, in regulations and in specific technical acts, that expand the availability of channels for the migration of AM to FM radios, for the benefit of the broadcasting sector.
The Executive Secretary of the MC, Vitor Elísio Menezes, representing the Minister of Communications, celebrated Anatel's 23rd anniversary and highlighted the evolution of the Agency's work during this period, based on past learnings. Among the advances, he mentioned the conversion of analog to digital TV, the provision of mobile and broadband services and the expansion of fiber optics. "We have made available to the pandemic one of the largest emergency assistance services in the world, with 50 million accounts benefited by the internet, made possible by the telecommunications infrastructure," Menezes said. "Our greatest values are our servants and I congratulate the Agency, with the embrace of Minister Fabio Faria," he concluded.
Board of Directors. The act also marked the end of the term of Councilman Vicente Aquino, which ended on Wednesday, November 4. Carlos Manuel Baigorri, appointed at the end of October, pointed out the challenges of a highly responsible agenda for the coming years, with the 5G auction, which he considers "the largest in history", and the concern for cybersecurity with the advent of new technologies. "It is critical that the Agency look back at this time of celebration, and also look forward, to know that Brazilian society has high expectations regarding our work," he said.
History
Anatel, the first regulatory agency to be installed in the country, was created by Law 9.472 / 1997, General Telecommunications Law (LGT). Its mission is to "regulate the telecommunications sector to contribute to the development of Brazil." The Agency is an entity belonging to the indirect Federal Public Administration, subject to a special municipal regime, with headquarters in the Federal District and with dependencies in all Brazilian states.
In 1998, when the sector was privatized, there were: 20 million landlines in the country; 5.6 million mobile phones; 2.6 million pay-TV subscribers; and there was still no broadband access. In September 2020, there were 30.7 million landlines; 228.3 million mobile phones; 15.1 million pay-TV accesses; and 35 million fixed broadband.
Anatel's 23 years of work have brought advances such as the evolution of 3G, 4G and the intense preparation for 5G; number portability; improving consumer rights; pulse-minute conversion; the introduction of the ninth digit in mobile telephony; the consolidation of instruments aimed at competition and the promotion of small suppliers; modernization of the station concession and licensing process; and radio spectrum management and the use of orbits.
In this tour you can also mention the fight against piracy and the Legal Cell project; turn off the analog TV signal; the Structural Plan for Telecommunications Networks (Pert); approval of the Terms of Adjustment of Conduct; the regulatory guillotine and the initiative that resulted in the portal "Don't bother me", to combat unwanted telemarketing calls from telecommunications companies.
