en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Telecommunications Infrastructure Committee (C-Int) of the Brazilian National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) has decided to incorporate the monitoring of the Telecommunications Network Structure Plan (PERT) into its regular meeting agenda. This decision was made during the 16th committee meeting held on July 1. The meeting also launched a technical report cycle on submarine cable infrastructure.
The first report was presented by the submarine cable company EllaLink. Its representative in Brazil, Marcio Lino, detailed the company's work in the deployment and operation of international submarine cable systems. This initiative is one of the follow-ups to the 2026 Public Consultation No. 2 (Tomada de Subsídios nº 2/2026), which specifically addressed this topic and will be extended to other companies in the sector. C-Int Chairman Alexandre Freire stated that closer engagement with submarine cable operators enhances regulatory capacity. Hearing from those directly involved in the deployment and operation of critical infrastructure is essential for identifying bottlenecks, anticipating challenges, and building regulatory solutions that foster innovation, legal certainty, and competition. He emphasized that listening to companies helps understand operators' practical experiences and the real impact of regulations, thereby anticipating risks, reducing information asymmetry, and improving rule-making to promote legal certainty, competition, and infrastructure expansion.
During the meeting, the Planning and Regulation Agency (SPR) presented the annual update of PERT, a document used to identify infrastructure gaps and guide regulatory priorities. The main change in the 2026 edition is the adoption of the concept of universal and meaningful connectivity, aligned with the framework of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Consequently, the diagnosis no longer considers only network availability but begins to incorporate indicators related to connection quality, affordability, device availability, digital skills, and network and user security. The document also restructured its analysis, including dedicated sections on infrastructure, quality, prices, devices, digital skills, security, and specific groups, as well as a section specifically for structuring regulatory projects.
Data submitted to C-Int shows that Brazil's telecommunications infrastructure continues to expand. According to PERT 2026, as of April this year, Brazil recorded 274.5 million Personal Mobile Service (SMP) accesses and 56 million Multimedia Communication Service (SCM) accesses. The survey also indicated that 4,741 cities already have fiber optic backhaul, while 85.1% of cities have fiber-based transmission infrastructure. At the same time, the diagnosis points to remaining challenges in connectivity penetration, recording 652 cities without fiber optics and no deployment commitments, in addition to 30,031 locations without fiber backhaul, mainly concentrated in remote and economically less attractive areas. The report also highlights that the expansion of mobile coverage is beginning to face different challenges compared to metropolitan centers, focusing more on rural areas, indigenous villages, and along highways.
The diagnosis concludes that as infrastructure expands, some barriers to digital inclusion shift towards factors related to the effective use of the internet. Prominent aspects include service affordability, the quality of consumer devices, digital skills, and cybersecurity. PERT identifies a high deficit in skills related to digital security, content creation, and problem-solving, especially among populations with lower education levels, in socioeconomic classes C, D, and E, in the North and Northeast regions, in rural areas, and among the elderly. In the security domain, the plan begins to list critical infrastructure protection, submarine cable and data center security, certification of telecommunications products, and combating the use of unauthorized TV boxes as strategic issues.
