Iqara Telecom, a member company of the British Gas group (BG), is to invest 150 million-200 million Brazilian Reals over the next three years to provide access to the last mile in metropolitan São Paulo and other cities in the state, using its own network or via agreements with third parties. BG controls Comgás, which distributes natural gas to homes and businesses in parts of São Paulo State. Iqara Telecom will use the Comgás network, which is 2,400 kilometers long and covers 18 municipalities in metropolitan São Paulo, reaching 300,000 consumers. The Comgás concession area includes the city of São Paulo, the metropolitan area, and the Campinas, Santos and Paraíba Valley regions. According to Fernando A. C. de Mello, Iqara?s managing director, the investment will be used for network expansion.
Unbundling
Iqara has talked to all four incumbent telcos (ILECs Brasil Telecom, Telemar and Telefonica, and long-distance carrier Embratel) as well as corporate ISPs, offering to share its network, which covers 95% of demand for local access in the city of São Paulo, as an alternative to unbundling. Iqara?s SDH network is also available in downtown São Paulo and Avenida Paulista, a high-density business district. Iqara has a Multimedia Service license (SCM), and besides supplying infrastructure to telcos it plans to offer dedicated voice and data circuits, Ethernet and special links to small and medium businesses. ?The small business segment is an attractive opportunity because of its volume and the fact that there are few last-mile options at present,? says Fernando Mello. Iqara has no plans to serve residential users for the time being.
