Brazil Cellphone Subscriptions Jump 4.2 Million In December

Brazilian mobile phone subscriptions jumped 4.2 million in December, representing the biggest single month increase of the year, as operators pursued aggressive Christmas marketing campaigns.

The number of mobile phones in circulation in Brazil reached 174.0 million by the end of December, up 2.5% from November, according to figures released Tuesday by telecommunications regulator Anatel.

Vivo Participacoes SA (VIV) maintained market leadership with a 29.75% share of subscriptions. Vivo is jointly owned by Spain's Telefonica SA (TEF) and Portugal Telecom SGPS SA (PT).

Claro, the local unit of Mexico's America Movil SA (AMX), was second with a 25.52% share.

TIM Participacoes (TCU) was in third place with 23.63%. TIM is the local unit of Telecom Italia SpA (TI).

Fourth-placed mobile-phone operator Oi (TNE) registered a share of 20.73%.

-By Alastair Stewart, Dow Jones Newswires; 5511 2847-4520; alastair.stewart@dowjones.com

Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024