#anatel

Brazil's National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) is setting the record straight on recent false information circulating online. The regulator pointed out that it does not enter into contracts with internet service providers or satellite companies, adding that its role is to review and grant authorisations for satellite operations within Brazil, ensuring compliance with regulations.

Press reports claimed that Anatel refused to do business with Starlink and signed a contract with E-Space to launch rockets. However, the actual situation is that, in 2022, Anatel authorised the operation of 4,408 Starlink satellites for broadband internet access in Brazil until March 2027. In September 2024, Anatel approved the Semaphore system from e-Space, designed for narrowband IoT applications.

S H A M A N • K I N G

Caiu a Internet? Você tem direito a desconto.

No serviço de banda larga, a operadora não pode cobrar pelas horas, e frações acima de 30 minutos, em que o serviço não foi prestado e deve deduzir da assinatura o valor correspondente ao período.

Caso a interrupção no serviço seja programada, o consumidor deve ser avisado pelo menos uma semana antes.

Artigo 46, Resolução n° 614/2013 da Anatel.

Following an EU ruling on the matter and rumblings in the US

Brazil’s telecoms regulator Anatel has launched a public consultation on a proposal to make USB-C chargers mandatory for all smartphones sold in the country.

It’s the latest example of lawmakers and regulators turning to USB-C as a common charging standard for phones. The EU passed a law on the matter earlier this month, making USB-C mandatory for a range of electronic gadgets (including smartphones) by the end of 2024, and in the US some Democrat politicians are pushing for similar legislation.

“Aware of the aforementioned movements in the international market, Anatel’s technical area evaluated the topic and presented a proposal with a similar approach for application in the Brazilian market,” said Anatel in a blog post (English translation via Google Translate).

Documents expose the pressure made by Brazil’s minister of communications in Anatel

President Jair Bolsonaro’s government had interfered with the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel, in Portuguese) to authorize the operation in the Brazilian territory of satellites from Starlink, a company owned by billionaire Elon Musk. The regulatory agency is, in principle, "administratively independent" from the federal administration.

Documents obtained through the Law of Information Access with the correspondences between the federal government and the company show the actions of the Brazilian government in favor of Starlink, in addition to demonstrating the participation of the United States Embassy Department of Commerce in an attempt to accelerate the Anatel certification process for Musk's company satellites.

With the approval granted by Anatel on January 28 this year, Starlink is now able to offer its internet services in Brazil. Most of today's satellite internet services are made possible through simple geostationary satellites, which orbit the planet at an altitude of about 35,000 km (almost 22,000 mi). Elon Musk's are a constellation of more than 4,000 satellites at a distance of only 550 km (342 mi). Anatel's approval was the first for such a project in the country.