Advice was set against quality regulation by Anatel

The PricewaterhouseCoopers International, announced today (28) by Anatel as "Entity for Measuring Quality" of Brazilian broadband - with technical support from the British SamKnows - was against the Rules of the Quality Management ofMultimedia Communication Service (SCM-RGQ ) created by the regulatory agency. So we now have to comply to the letter, to ensure quality service to theconsumer.

The confusion began when the Anatel put in January this year for public consultation the "Application for Cancellation filed by TNL PCS S / A (Hi), some devices of the Regulations for the Management of Quality of Service for Multimedia Communications (RGQ-SCM) and Quality Management of Personal Mobile Service (SMP-RGQ). "The purpose of the regulatory agency was to gather suggestions on possible market changes to the text.

On February 1 this year, the representative of PricewaterhouseCoopersInternational Limited, Anderson Carlos Santos Ramires, the considerationspresented in this international consultancy, which were contrary to the adoption of the regulation of SCM.


"Good Regulatory Practices"

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers' use of regulatory measures should beadopted when there is a specific issue whose resolution can not be achieved through market mechanisms. "

While I believe the adoption of a regulation is "legitimate and effective tool" to provide the information necessary to Anatel for the good performance of its functions, the consultancy supports the thesis that the agency should have taken into account "the size, level of maturity and structure of the market. "Withoutstudying this problem, the consultant believes that the Anatel could exceed "in charge", the benefit that would seek to give consumers "from a regulatory standpoint."

PwC reported that in August 2011, at the request of SindiTelebrasil - entity thatdefends the interests of telephone companies - an international study conductedin 10 countries and assessed the level of existing regulation to measure the quality of broadband. This study was conducted in the United States, South Korea, Germany, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Chile, India and Italy. It tookinto account that these 10 countries represent 40% of todal subscribersworldwide service. Queswtões sought to answer the following:

(i) the understanding of the approach adopted by the Regulators for the Quality ofBroadband Services;

(ii) the understanding of the parameters used in the measurement and transparency of the results of the Quality of Broadband,

(iii) understanding of the penalties adopted;

(iv) consumer perceptions, and

(v) the effectiveness of the approach adopted.


"The study showed that none of the 10 countries evaluated and implemented aspecific regulation, mainly determined quality goals for Broadband to be followed.Instead, the measures have been used by regulatory agencies to increasetransparency for consumers in relation the quality and price offered by the publication of comparative information on the services between the carriers, "saidPwC, against precisely the regulation to force companies to meet quality targets in broadband.

According to the consultancy, the measures adopted by these countries are goingin the direction of establishing "variations in service quality", so that consumers can make their own choices, thereby creating competitive pressure that forces the providers to improve their performance .

PwC also found that there are still countries where there is "no evidence ofintervention" in them and that consumer protection agencies are responsible formeasuring and disseminating results on the quality of services provided by operators.


"Thus, we can not establish a clear and direct relationship between the level of regulation, its effectiveness and impact on competition and on the improvement of the quality standards of broadband from the adoption of regulations specific quality goals in countries analyzed. in these markets, only India has implemented the mandatory disclosure of service performance and do not represent specific regulation of the same levels of quality, "concluded the consultancy.

Anatel closed the public consultation of the application of TNL / PCS (Oi) the last day of February 1, without having released yet on whether or not the request forannulment of the regulation of quality of broadband that she herself created, basedthe arguments of the utility companies and forwarded suggestions.

This question and more a decision today, to choose PricewaterhouseCoopers as "entity to measure Quality," suggest that the regulatory body is totally lost with respect to routes that will take over the supervision of the services provided by operators in the future Brazilian broadband .