Communications Minister Juarez Quadros says he?s asked the Federal Solicitor-General?s Office to intervene in the dispute between Embratel, the incumbent long-distance carrier, and Telefonica, the local exchange carrier for São Paulo State. Telefonica has a license to offer domestic long-distance service out of its concession area in São Paulo State, but only recently began delivering the service after a court overturned an injunction granted to Embratel, which alleges unfair trading. "We need to preserve the model in the interests of the Union,? Mr Quadros explains, adding that only the Solicitor-General can take legal action on behalf of the Union. The ruling by Judge Luciana da Costa Aguiar Alves, of the 15th Civil Court in São Paulo, that Anatel violated the Constitution by granting Telefonica a long-distance license challenges the very basis of the Brazilian telecommunications model, Mr Quadros says. There are no flaws in the General Telecommunications Act in his opinion, although one or another of Anatel?s resolutions may contain a technical or drafting error that could explain the judge?s ruling. Anatel will shortly take legal action to seek annulment of the injunction, he says. Under procedural rules it has ten days to appeal.
Embratel v. Telefonica
