Panel SA: Government transition vetoes decree that puts an end to investment in pay phones

The transitional government asked the Minister of Communications, Fábio Faria, not to make any move with President Jair Bolsonaro to allow the exchange of BRL 190 million in telecoms obligations with payphones for investments in fiber optic networks in municipalities.

Published by Panel SA, the decree would release operators to take broadband connections in places where there is mobile telephony service, removing public telephones from circulation. In their place, devices would be installed in schools, hospitals and public centers with chips — a free-to-use fixed-mobile phone.

Members of the transition told the minister that they prefer to analyze better before the change. Even so, Faria promised to have the draft of the decree ready since, for the telecoms and for the country, it no longer makes sense to invest in pay phones.

The telecoms have already demonstrated to Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency) that the terminals are no longer used in view of the massification of cell phones. The proposal is that the pay phone be maintained only where there is no cellular coverage —5% of the current park.

Julio Wiziack (interim) with Paulo Ricardo Martins and Diego Felix