Brazil’s Vivo testing femtocells, aims to deploy in 2Q13

Brazilian mobile operator Vivo, a subsidiary of Telefonica of Spain, is carrying out trials of femtocell technology in the country, with a view to offering them commercially from the second quarter of 2013. Femtocell deployments have yet to happen in Brazil due to a lack of legislation, although a proposed bill that would clarify the rules on femtocells is under public discussion via Anatel until 25 January. RCR Wireless News quotes Vivo’s director of planning and technology Leonardo Capdeville as saying: ‘There is a wide range of options for femtocell adoption, for consumer loyalty, quality enhancement or off-loading.’ However, Vivo intends to wait for Anatel’s decision on femtocell regulation before finalising its business model for their deployment. In the meantime the pilot project will include 100 femtocells deployed to users who have expressed an interest in the technology, with about 80% of these small cells being installed in Sao Paulo. As noted by Capdeville: ‘This technology helps us to fill gaps where there are some coverage difficulties, such as more complex indoor environments or some higher floors of buildings.’