Anatel approves the sale of Oi's mobile assets, which is under judicial reorganization, to TIM, Claro, and Telefônica Brasil.

The National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) unanimously approved, in January (01/31/2022), the sale of Oi's mobile telephony assets to rivals TIM, Claro and Telefônica Brasil, one of the most important parts of the company's judicial recovery plan.

The issue had been dragging on since the end of 2020 when the three operators won rights to Oi's mobile assets in an auction that was contested by rivals such as Algar Telecom.

Oi has been in judicial reorganization since 2016, when it filed for court protection burdened by debt exceeding 65 billion reais at the time, one of the largest such cases in the country's history.

Since the auction of the mobile assets, regulators, including the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade), have been studying the operation. Last November, Cade's general superintendence recommended approval of the deal with the adoption of remedies to mitigate competitive risks.

The case's rapporteur, Emmanoel Campelo, recommended approval of the operation, but with reservations that had already been presented to the agency. On Friday, the analysis was postponed at the request of advisor Vicente Aquino.

On Monday, Aquino voted in favor of the deal, citing minor reservations regarding Campelo's considerations and including mechanisms to ensure the continuity of services for the Brazilian research mission in Antarctica.

The remedies recommended by the rapporteur include offering capacity to mobile virtual network operators, known by the acronym MVNO, and a plan for occupying the spectrum transferred from Oi. In addition, he also suggested the exclusion of loyalty clauses in the case of user migration, which should not be automatic.

Source: "Anatel approves sale of Oi's mobile assets to TIM, Claro and Telefônica Brasil". CNN Brasil. Accessed on 10/03/2022. To access the website click here .