Incoming minister to get tough on broadband pricing

Brazil’s newly appointed communications minister, Paulo Bernardo, used his acceptance speech to announce his intention to reduce the cost of broadband access in the country. Telecompaper quotes Bernardo as saying that state-owned telco Telebras will be tasked with providing internet access in areas where private operators currently have ‘no investment interest’. According to the minister, entry level prices for high speed internet services will cost around BRL35 (USD21) per month for a typical downlink connection of between 512kbps and 1Mbps.