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Publication Date: June 2008
EVENT SPOTLIGHT
On April 3, 2008, Embratel launched its WiMAX service in Brasilia, the first in Brazil, targeted to the corporate segment, particularly small- and medium-sized companies. According to Embratel President Jose Formoso, by the end of April the operator was offering its WiMAX services in 12 state capitals. The company will “reach 30,000 customers in 61 cities by the end of this year” and will continue to set up a large Internet access network “covering 200 municipalities by 2009 with an investment of US$350m (R$600m).” Embratel, owned by Mexican fixed operator Telmex, already has a fixed wireless access network deployed in Brazil and will become the first operator to launch WiMAX services on a large scale.
Along with Embratel, other companies in the region seem to have found in WiMAX a suitable technological path to challenge the local incumbent and accomplish higher market penetration and differentiation. The flexibility of WiMAX, which among other features allows for fixed-to-mobile convergence, makes it a good alternative for challengers in the region. Pyramid Research believes that due to their flexibility, other CLECs will choose WiMAX as their access technology and, in the next five years, WiMAX will be the fastest growing wireless technology, reaching nearly 6m subscribers in the region by 2012.
Author: Jose Mario Lopez
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