The injunction granted by Judge Luciana da Costa Aguiar Alves of the 15th Civil Court in São Paulo, suspending Anatel?s authorization for Telefonica to offer domestic long-distance service out of its concession area in São Paulo State, threatens the very basis of the Brazilian telecommunications model, says Floriano de Azevedo Marques Neto, a lawyer with Manesco, Ramires, Perez, Azevedo Marques Advocacia. The judge ruled that Anatel had violated the Constitution. According to this expert, the ruling means Articles 126-144 of the General Telecommunications Act are unconstitutional. Anatel has licensed many telcos and data service providers in accordance with those provisions, such as GVT, Vésper, Intelig, and PCS carriers like Oi, TIM etc. "The judge understands absolutely nothing about the telecoms industry," Mr Marques Neto says, predicting the injunction will soon be overturned. "Either this ruling falls or the entire industry will."
Anatel was officially notified of the court ruling on Monday, July 8, but didn?t immediately say what action it would take. A spokesperson for Telefonica said the telco hadn?t been served with a formal notice but would take every technically appropriate measure to comply with the stay. Today, July 8, however, Telefonica?s domestic long-distance service continues to operate normally. Tomorrow, July 9, is a holiday in São Paulo State. The Federal Regional Court of the Third Region (TRF3) didn?t reopen Monday because of the holiday but will resume normally on Wednesday, July 10.
Embratel v. Telefonica
