ILECs: Anatel awaiting contributions from members of Congress

Anatel will await the input of the Science, Technology & Communications Committee of the lower house before taking a decision on renewal of incumbent telco licenses. The news was delivered by Luiz Guilherme Schymura, director-general of Anatel, to Deputy Corauci Sobrinho (PFL, São Paulo), who chairs the committee, when they met on Wednesday, March 12, together with Deps. Walter Pinheiro (PT, Bahia), Julio Semeghini (PSDB, São Paulo), Dr. Hélio (PDT, São Paulo), and Gilberto Kassab (PFL, São Paulo), a member of Anatel?s consultative council.
Congress was worried about the short time allowed by Anatel for contributions to the public consultation on the new licenses. The deadline is March 17. Mr Schymura said it still stands as far as contributions from the general public are concerned, but Anatel will wait longer for contributions from the committee.
The congressmen?s initiative of talking to Anatel caused unease among other committee members who weren?t invited to the meeting. Some deputies protested, insisting that they would have wanted to attend the meeting. This shows that the topic is controversial and will certainly spark a lively debate when the committee holds its hearings.

A committee session held on Wednesday, March 12, passed a motion calling on Anatel to testify about telco license renewal, annual tariff increases, and third-generation wireless standards. The committee plans to hold hearings on each of these three topics on different days. The first will be held next week and will focus on ILEC licenses.