--Brazil regulator confirms suspension of sales by three
operators due to poor service
--TIM, Oi and Claro won't be able to sell phones in some states,
regulator says
--Sales can resume once Anatel accepts the operator's investment
plans
--Mobile phone market growth slowed again in June, regulator
says
(Updates with comments from TIM, Oi and Claro in paragraphs
5-7.)
By Matthew Cowley
SAO PAULO--Brazil's telecommunications regulator Anatel has
suspended sales by three mobile-phone companies in some states
because of the volume of customer complaints.
"The measure was taken as a result of the growth, witnessed by
Anatel since last year, of the number of complaints registered at
Anatel," the regulator said in a statement.
The suspension will start on Monday, and will affect TIM
Participacoes SA (TSU, TIMP3.BR), a unit of Telecom Italia SpA (TI,
TIA, TIT.MI); Oi SA (OIBR, OIBR4.BR); and Claro, a unit of Mexico's
America Movil SA (AMX, AMOV, AMX.MX).
TIM won't be allowed to sell in 19 states, Oi in five states and
Claro in three states, Anatel said. Significantly, Claro won't be
allowed to sell phones in Brazil's wealthiest and most populous
state, Sao Paulo, while TIM won't be allowed to sell lines in Rio
de Janeiro state.
TIM said that it was "surprised by the extreme measure adopted
by Anatel." TIM noted that it was the lone Brazilian mobile-phone
operator that sells unblocked phones and without fines for
terminating services. "Today, the sole element that keeps a client
with TIM is their satisfaction," TIM said. "Such a disproportional
measure by Anatel will certainly affect competition in the
country's telecommunications sector to the benefit of some
competitors."
Meanwhile, Oi said that Anatel's analysis did not "reflect the
massive investments made to improve [the company's] network" over
the past 12 months.
In a statement late Wednesday, Claro said that temporary
problems with a call center serving the three states were behind
Anatel's action. Changes at the call center have already shown an
improvement in customer satisfaction for June, Claro said.
The companies now have 30 days to present an investment plan to
resolve problems with the quality of the service they're providing
to customers, Anatel said. Once that plan is accepted by Anatel,
the firms can restart sales.
Together, the three account for around 70% of the Brazilian
mobile-phone market; Telefonica Brasil SA (VIV, VIVT4.BR) is the
fourth operator, with the remaining 30% share. Telefonica also must
present an investment plan, Anatel said.
Shares in two of the locally traded firms to be affected, TIM
and Oi, were down 2.8% and 4.5%, respectively, while the broad
Ibovespa index was up 1.1% on the day. Shares in Telefonica Brasil
were up 0.2%.
New York-traded shares in America Movil were down 1%.
The regulator on Wednesday also released data showing that the
growth of the mobile market in Brazil slowed again in June. Total
mobile-phone users in Brazil rose to 256.13 million in June, up
0.46% from May, Anatel said. A total of 1.2 million new subscribers
were signed up in June, down from the nearly 2 million new
subscriptions seen in May.
Telefonica is the largest operator overall and saw its market
share steady in the period, at 29.6%. TIM was second with 26.9%;
Claro ranked third with a 24.6% share; and Oi SA (OIBR) remained in
fourth place with 18.6%.
--Jeff Fick in Rio de Janeiro contributed to this article.
Write to Matthew Cowley at matthew.cowley@dowjones.com
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