GSMA LAUNCHES MOBILE SERVICES INITIATIVES WITH GOVERNMENT OF BRAZIL AND LEADING MOBILE OPERATORS
25 February 2014, Barcelona: The GSMA today announced several initiatives to advance the scope and scale of mobile services in Brazil for the benefit of its citizens and businesses. Paulo Bernardo, Minister of Communications, Federative Republic of Brazil and Anne Bouverot, Director General of the GSMA signed an agreement under which the GSMA and Government of Brazil will work together to accelerate the adoption of mobile broadband and the delivery of new mobile services in Brazil. Additionally, the GSMA and all of Brazil’s mobile operators – Algar Telecom, Claro, Nextel, Oi, Sercomtel, TIM Brasil and Vivo – announced their collaboration to provide users with safer, more secure and convenient mobile experiences through a set of initiatives that address issues such as SMS spam, handset theft and child protection.
“With nearly 115 million unique subscribers and 277 million mobile connections, Brazil is the largest mobile market in Latin America,” said Anne Bouverot, Director General, GSMA. “Working together with the Government of Brazil and the country’s mobile operators, we will continue to expand the reach of mobile networks and services in Brazil and ensure that all customers can enjoy the transformational benefits of mobile in a protected and trusted environment.”
GSMA and Brazil Memorandum of Understanding
The GSMA and the Brazilian Ministry of Communications will address a number of key areas to accelerate the adoption of mobile broadband networks and services across the country. The GSMA will provide its global expertise and facilitate dialogue in areas such as machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, mHealth, mMoney and mEducation, among others. Further, the GSMA will work with operators in developing solutions to facilitate international roaming, aiming to make the service more efficient, transparent and easy to use.
The Ministry of Communications will work to promote the widespread deployment of mobile broadband in Brazil, establishing clear and fair guidelines for the allocation of spectrum frequencies that will stimulate mobile broadband development. Further, the Ministry will work with other government bodies to create an adequate regulatory framework to enable new services like mHealth, mMoney and M2M, with the goal of creating of local ecosystems. To drive these projects forward, the Ministry will establish a Government Working Group, with participation from the GSMA.
GSMA and Mobile Operators Launch Customer Protection Initiative
Working with the GSMA, Brazil’s mobile operators Algar Telecom, Claro, Nextel, Oi, Sercomtel, TIM Brasil and Vivo will implement a multi-faceted customer protection initiative throughout Brazil, focusing on three key areas:
- Controlling SMS spam – With approximately 268 million mobile devices currently active in Brazil, helping to control SMS spam is a growing issue. To protect customers from unsolicited messages and identify spammers in Brazil, operators have launched the GSMA’s Spam Reporting Service where users can forward texts to *SPAM (*7726). The messages are then aggregated, analysed and incorporated into spam ‘fingerprints’ by the system, providing operators important details about origination, size, intent and growth pattern of the spam messages. The service allows mobile operators to isolate attacks on their network and help prevent the attack spreading to another network, thus curbing the spread of spam in Brazil.
- Reducing handset theft - Brazil has the second highest rate of handset theft in the world, with more than one million devices stolen each year1. Brazilian mobile operators are now extending their current national collaboration to work with their international counterparts to further reduce opportunities to illegally export and reconnect stolen devices around the world. The operators will share the unique identification codes of stolen devices via the centralised GSMA IMEI database, effectively blocking their future use. This wider international partnership will ultimately reduce the rate of theft and control illegal trafficking, as stolen mobile phones will be rendered useless.
- Protecting children’s rights - The Brazilian mobile operators are proud to support the work of SaferNet Brazil since 2008, a national organisation founded specifically to protect children online and to promote human rights on the Internet. The operators also support Disque 100, a Freephone helpline operating under the auspices of the national Department for Human Rights. To help raise awareness of the option for children to access the free support and services of both organisations via mobile, the Brazilian operators will send a standard SMS to every customer, informing them of the SaferNet Brazil and Disque 100 services and will include the SaferNet logo and weblink on their websites.
"Initiatives that contribute to user safety, enable service delivery and improve the mobile experience of the subscriber will always have the support of Sercomtel. This campaign is a way for operators to engage in actions to protect children and to combat theft devices and spam SMS," said President of Sercomtel, Christian Perillier Schneider.
“The technology is capable of changing behaviors and facilitating the daily lives of people. Today, virtually every Brazilian has access to telecommunications services and Telefónica Vivo is proud to make them accessible to all social classes and in the most isolated regions of the country. It is important not to lose sight of the need to collaborate in offering alternatives that contribute to the safe use of information and communication technologies. This campaign addresses these issues, has our support and demonstrates the performance of socially responsible business,” said Antonio Carlos Valente, President of Telefónica Group in Brazil.
“For TIM, it is essential to participate in a project like this, which reinforces the transparency of our business and strengthens our relationship of trust with the consumer. We know that the cell phone is part of day-to-day lives and seek solutions that bring more security and a better user experience underscoring the commitment of operators to their users," commented Rodrigo Abreu, President of TIM Brazil.
The Brazilian mobile operators have committed to implement the customer protection programmes within the next six months. With Brazil as a starting point, the GSMA will also be working to undertake similar initiatives with its other operator members throughout Latin America.
-ENDS-
About the GSMA
The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Spanning more than 220 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators with 250 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and Internet companies, as well as organisations in industry sectors such as financial services, healthcare, media, transport and utilities. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress and Mobile Asia Expo. For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at
www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.
GSMA Latin America is the branch of the GSMA in the region. For more information in English, Spanish and Portuguese, please visit
www.gsmala.com. Follow GSMA LA on Twitter: @GSMALatam.
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