Brazil: mobile phone sales recover in August

Sales of mobile phones in Brazil recovered a little in August, although growth remained well below the levels seen a year ago, the national regulator Anatel reports. The sales of SIMs faltered in July as a result of the watchdog’s decision to ban three of the big four operators from selling new phones in some parts of the country due to customer complaints over service quality. The country’s mobile network operators collectively added a net 1.5 million new users last month, up 0.6% from July, but below the 3.7 million net additions reported in August 2011. As at 31 August 2012, the total number of mobile SIMs registered in Brazil stood at 257.9 million, Anatel said.