The wholesale or “neutral” fiber networks that have telecom operators as partners and shareholders are not independent business units, but rather subsidiaries of the carriers and therefore need no specific regulation.
That is the view of Carlos Baigorri, president of Brazilian telecom watchdog Anatel, who spoke about the topic on a webinar on Friday organized by the Brazilian association of telecom infrastructure companies, Feninfra.
Baigorri said that there is a difference between the fiber operations of V.tal (Oi’s JV with funds from BTG Pactual), FiBrasil (Telefónica and CDPQ), and I-Systems (TIM and IHS Towers), on the one hand, and that of tower group American Tower, for example, on the other.
“Our regulation is done by economic group,” Baigorri said at the event, confirming the understanding that the three networks mentioned are seen as part of the corporations.
Anatel is currently discussing the update of its general competition goals plan, PGMC, a framework that defines companies with significant market power (SMP) and sets competitive remedies that may be necessary to correct market distortions.
Baigorri said that neutral networks will not be included.
