“We had a major initiative underway to create a more consistent, high quality experience for our customers. And it was clear that the group with the most potential positive impact on this initiative was our field workforce of more than 500 technicians,” said Luis Antonio Andrade Lima, CTO at Algar Telecom. “We knew we had to empower these mobile employees with the right technology so they could better keep the promises we make to customers – missing appointments less and instead arriving at the right job, with the right resources, on-time.”

“The field service management solution from TOA Technologies matched what we needed because it creates the most precise schedules possible using actual data about how each field employee works. That will give us the information we need to communicate more frequently and more accurately with our customers about the status of their appointments. And in the end, the TOA team demonstrated that not only did their technology fit our business needs, but also that they had great local reference customers and proved they could deliver the solution well ahead of our business deadlines,” said Lima.

Algar Telecom will use the ETAdirect solution to:

• Create a holistic view of its field operations, allowing the company to manage its mobile workforce more effectively, both in the moment and for long-term forecasting
• Accurately predict when field service technicians will arrive at customer appointments by using the data that the system learns about how individual employees work
• Communicate with customers before appointments, giving them an accurate appointment time up front, and then keeping them updated if there is a change in the appointment time

“Strategic initiatives such as enhancing the customer experience and improving field operations productivity are increasingly being adopted by telecommunications providers worldwide as differentiators for how they manage their business. It is these projects, especially in Latin America, that are leading telecom providers to field service management solutions, and specifically to TOA Technologies,” said Yuval Brisker, co-founder and CEO of TOA Technologies.

“It’s rewarding to see that our vision of a completely cloud-based mobile workforce management solution, that focuses on a real bottom line impact and the customer experience through predictive analytics, is coming to fruition across Latin America. And beyond the smart way that they are applying IT solutions to improve their business, we see Latin American companies as tech innovators – they continue to make it clear to us that legacy systems are out, and enterprise cloud and apps built for any device are in,” said Brisker.

TOA’s community of telecommunications customers in Latin America continues to grow. From Telefónica, with operations in 24 countries across Latin America and Europe, to GVT with more than 6,000 mobile service employees throughout Brazil, TOA enables companies in the region to better manage their mobile workforces, from Brazil and Argentina to Mexico and Panama.

To learn more about TOA Technologies and how its solutions are benefiting telecommunications providers around the world, visit http://www.toatech.com

About TOA Technologies and ETAdirect

TOA Technologies is a leading provider of field service and mobile workforce management software solutions. ETAdirect, TOA’s complete cloud-based field service management application suite, holistically manages the entire service delivery process from start to finish: from the moment an appointment or service is requested, through planning, routing and scheduling, to real-time customer communications and field management. ETAdirect measures everything that happens in the field, from travel times to appointment length, and creates unique performance pattern profiles for each and every person in the field. TOA’s patented statistical analysis engine then uses these personalized profiles to predict when things will happen and how long they will take. With the most accurate schedules and ETAdirect’s browser-based and device-agnostic field service mobile app, mobile employees are empowered to get the job done right, on-time and the first time. ETAdirect is quickly deployed, highly configurable and easily integrated with existing CRM, ERP and other systems.

Across four continents, TOA Technologies and its ETAdirect solution suite manage diverse mobile workforces in the satellite/cable/broadband, telecom, utilities, insurance, home services and retail industries, helping them achieve their goals of reducing operational costs while dramatically enhancing the customer experience. A Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Field Service Management, TOA Technologies is headquartered in the United States and has offices throughout Europe, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand.

The network will also be used during the Confederations Cup to provide FIFA with image and sound broadcast services for high definition television (HDTV) in order to ensure global transmission of the games. For this purpose, links totaling 20 Gbps will be used to connect all stadiums participating in the event to the International Broadcast Coordination Center (IBCC), located in the state capital, Belo Horizonte.

Telebras will utilize DWDM (dense wavelength division multiplexing) technology to illuminate fibers with equipment developed in the country.

“Last week, we conducted tests on our network with the company contracted by FIFA to broadcast the video signal for matches in the Confederations Cup and the World Cup, and the result was excellent,” said Caio Bonilha, President of Telebras.

Source:

World Cup Portal

By recruiting 250 new staff, increasing its professional services capabilities, opening new centers of excellence and implementing a wide range of network and customer service improvements, BT will better support global customers investing in this region and help large Latin American companies expand globally.

BT’s research has identified an addressable market for the company in the Latin American region of $18.5 billion as at 31 March 2011, growing at a rapid 7% per annum. BT already serves around 1,300 organizations in the region, including a number of global multinational companies, such as Unilever, Rhodia, BASF and Fiat.

BT has this year signed a number of high profile contracts with Latin-American companies such as the $206 million contract with ECT – Empresa Brasileira de Correios e Telegrafos (the state-owned Brazilian Post Office and Telegraph Company).

BT also signed contracts with Caixa Economica Federal to connect its data centers with its banking correspondents and lottery outlets in Brazil, with Pao de Acucar, the largest retail conglomerate in Brazil, with Ecopetrol, Colombia’s largest company, and with Colombia’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies, where BT supports the Compartel program to deliver internet connectivity to hundreds of schools, hospitals, council buildings, courthouses and other government institutions and contracts.

Commenting on the planned investments Jeff Kelly, CEO BT Global Services said, “Latin America is showing great dynamism and ability to grow in the face of a turbulent global economy. BT’s global customers recognize this.”

“Right now, they are expanding and investing in the region. BT also understands that large Latin-American companies are rolling out ambitious strategies of globalization. These powerhouse players need consistency across their global operations, in their home bases and all over the world. That is exactly what BT’s investments allow it to deliver to them,” noted Kelly.

As part of the new program, BT will hire around 250 new employees in the region, including highly skilled professional services specialists to support customer needs and deliver BT’s enhanced portfolio of products and services.

Through BT’s professional services capabilities, global delivery model and strong partner relationships, customers active in Latin America will benefit from industry leading expertise.

BT will also extend the coverage of its high performance networks in the region by increasing the number of its MPLS points of presence by around 20% and by launching Ethernet services in 21 new cities.

The new logo will unify the brand identity and enhance brand recognition across all five of the company’s markets and is designed to appeal to NII’s current customers while attracting new customers in support of the company’s growth strategy.

The new logo and brand strategy will be launched today at a series of events for customers, business partners and media in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru and Chile.  The new NII logo will also be unveiled in the United States when NII participates in the opening bell ceremony for the NASDAQ Stock Market on September 21, 2011.

According to Steve Dussek, NII’s chief executive officer, “The Nextel brand stands for superior quality and customer service across its markets, especially among businesses.

“NII earned its reputation as a premium service provider and a trusted partner by delivering differentiated and innovative products and services that help its customers be more productive.  As the company pursues its plans of launching 3G networks and providing new products and services to expanded customer segments, it is the right time to refresh its brand identity with a new logo and brand strategy that better reflects its focus on connecting its customers and their world, not only in the workplace but wherever they are and whenever they need it,” he added.

Greg Santoro, NII’s executive vice president and chief marketing and strategy officer noted that, “NII’s new visual identity uses connectors derived from the ‘x’ in the company’s new logo that are meant to join ideas and focus attention.”

“They express the professional and personal nature of its network and provide tremendous flexibility to deliver its message to customers while maintaining a clearly recognizable visual language that expresses how the brand connects customers to what’s important to them,” Santoro said.

Orange was selected as the dominant color for the new logo for its freshness and appeal, while a proprietary font was chosen to lend a contemporary feel. The NII Holdings, Inc. logo will change its design and color to coordinate better with the new Nextel brand graphic identity that will be used in the company’s markets.

The introduction of a unified logo, tagline and graphic design across NII’s markets in Latin America is expected to improve customer recognition and loyalty.

Hitachi has purposed the investment towards developing a terrestrial digital broadcasting equipment business in South America. Negotiations are proceeding, with both parties targeting the conclusion of a final agreement by September 30.

Hitachi Kokusai has been conducting market surveys and analysis, for the purpose of further developing its global business, focusing on the countries of South America where the Japanese broadcasting standard is being adopted and used, with regard to its terrestrial digital broadcasting equipment business for video and wireless networks.

Based on this research, Hitachi Kokusai has been negotiating with Linear, the largest Brazilian broadcast transmitter manufacturer, to develop a joint business as a means of entering the broadcast transmitter market in Brazil, which is undergoing rapid economic growth.

Linear has reliable technologies related to the design and manufacturing of both analog and digital transmitters, and with a full product lineup, has a solid sales record in the Brazilian domestic market. Linear is also looking to expand its business to other countries in South America and to Africa.

By supplementing Linear’s lineup with the digital technologies, design and manufacturing expertise, and reliability that Hitachi Kokusai has developed in the Japanese domestic market, the two companies will be able to supply broadcasters in Brazil and other countries with high-quality, competitively priced transmitters.

Brazil’s full conversion to terrestrial digital broadcasting is scheduled to take place in 2016, but with the FIFA World Cup scheduled to be held in Brazil in 2014 and the Summer Olympics scheduled to be held in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, this basic agreement was reached for the timely supply to the market of high value-added products and to quickly build a structure that can comprehensively supply cameras, digital microwave link, and other broadcasting equipment.

From its formation in 1977, Linear has developed a reputation as a reliable provider of advanced TV broadcasting and signal transport equipment. In Latin America, Linear has been the prominent manufacturer of TV Transmitters in countries ranging from Mexico to Argentina, including Brazil, for decades.

Linear’s line of equipment includes VHF and UHF TV transmitters from 1W to 20,000W, exciters, encoders, gap-fillers, as well as analog and digital microwave systems. Collectively, the company has manufactured and installed nearly 30,000 forms of equipment in more than 40 countries worldwide.

The group is a telecommunications infrastructure operator in the states of San Paolo and Rio de Janeiro, the most densely populated and wealthiest regions of the country which generate 27% of national GDP.
AES Atimus is the owner of a 5,500 km fibre optic network covering all 21 towns that make up the urban conglomeration of San Paolo and Rio de Janeiro.

The group reported revenues in 2010 of 211 million reais with an EBITDA margin of 63%, and represents a vital asset enabling TIM Brasil to reinforce its competitive position. The deal has an enterprise value of 1.6 billion reais, or roughly €700 million and is expected to close by Q4 2011 once the company and the competent authorities have given their approval.

The infrastructure covered by Thurday’s agreement will enable TIM Participações to reinforce development of its mobile network thanks to fibre optic connections (so-called backhauling) between transmission stations, allowing it to extend and accelerate mobile broadband services.

The company will also benefits from synergies through the internalization of AES’ access infrastructure, avoiding the need to rent connections from third party operators.

AES Atimus’ fibre infrastructure will integrate perfectly with that of Intelig (essentially backbone based), acquired in 2009, facilitating the rapid growth of the company’s offering and selectively exploit many of the opportunities that will arise from convergence in the Brazilian market.

The deal will deliver possible synergies in terms of opex and capex worth 1 billion reais over three years. This is the first acquisition of this size by the Telecom Italia Group in the last years.

Today’s deal will have no impact on the deleveraging plan presented to the financial community last February.
Telecom Italia offers technological infrastructures and platforms in which voice and data are converted into advanced telecommunications services – as well as the latest ICT and Media solutions. These services are constantly adapted as tools not only for the growth of the Group but for that of the country as a whole.

Telecom Italia, TIM, Virgilio, La7 and MTV Italia, Olivetti are the Group’s main brands, symbols familiar to consumers and a guarantee of reliability and skill.

According to Economico, in recent months, TIM Participacoes SA, the local unit of Telecom Italia has closed in on Claro, which is the second-largest mobile phone operator in Brazil behind Vivo, of Spain’s Telefonica. Claro, with just over 25% market share, had moved into second place in 2008, overtaking TIM.

Erik Fernandes, Claro’s marketing director, said that market share data is cyclical, and the company won’t defend its second place at any cost. According to Fernandes, Claro may fall into third place, but it’s a cyclical issue.

Nevertheless, Fernandes denied that Claro has lost market share because it has been less aggressive, as the company seeks to integrate its long-distance and cable TV units.

According to Valor Economico, most of Claro’s spending this year will go towards increasing the ability to handle data, amid a boom in sales of smartphones. Valor Economico newspaper quoted senior Claro executives as having revealed the plans without mentioning names.

Claro’s director of value-added services said the Company’s focus is the network, because the advance of broadband demands that.

América Móvil is a telecommunication company headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico. It is the fourth largest mobile network operator in terms of equity subscribers, one of the largest corporations in Latin America, and the world. A venture of Carlos Slim Helú, América Móvil provides services to over 215 million wireless subscribers in the American continent, primarily in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The company’s world headquarters are located in Mexico City, Mexico. Its Mexican subsidiary Telcel is the largest mobile operator in Mexico, commanding a market share in excess of 70 percent. In the United States, it operates under the trademarks TracFone, Net10, and Straight Talk, and is the leading national pre-paid wireless service.

It operates in many countries in the Caribbean and Latin America such as Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Puerto Rico; Comcel Colombia in Colombia; and Porta in Ecuador. In Brazil it operates the trademark Claro.

As of December 2010, the company has 265 million subscribers, making it one of the top 4 telcos in the world and has 290,000 kilometers of fiber optics, making it the largest in infrastructure.

StarOne is a Brazilian company that provides satellite services in Brazil. Empresa Brasileira de Telecomunicações S.A. (Embratel), subsidiary of AMX, currently owns the remaining 80% of the shares representing the capital stock of StarOne.

The completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals in Brazil, and is expected to take place during the third quarter of 2011.

AMX is the leading provider of wireless services in Latin America. As of December 31, 2010, it had 225 million wireless subscribers and 51.5 million fixed revenue generating units in the Americas.

América Móvil is a telecommunication company headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico. It is the fourth largest mobile network operator in terms of equity subscribers, one of the largest corporations in Latin America, and the world.

A venture of Carlos Slim Helú, América Móvil provides services to over 215 million wireless subscribers in the American continent, primarily in Latin America and the Caribbean. The firm has operations in 18 countries in the Americas with more than 225 million mobile customers and over 28 million fixed lines.

Its services serve a combined populace of 823 million, inclusive of 13 million fixed broadband accesses and more than 10 million television subscribers.

Its Mexican subsidiary Telcel is the largest mobile operator in Mexico, commanding a market share in excess of 70 per cent. In the United States, it operates under the trademarks TracFone, Net10, and Straight Talk, and is the leading national pre-paid wireless service.

It operates in various countries in the Caribbean and Latin America such as Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Puerto Rico; Comcel Colombia in Colombia; and Porta in Ecuador. In Brazil it operates the trademark Claro.

In January 2010 America Movil, the largest mobile Telecom in Latin America, made an offer to buy Telmex and Telmex International in order to better compete against Spain’s Telefonica. The acquisition was approved by the CFC (Comisión Federal de Competencia) Antitrust Office in Mexico on February 11, 2010. America Movil was once the mobile arm of Telmex, but since 2001 America Movil was split off and grew bigger than the former parent company.

Portugal Telecom announced that it has finalized its acquisition of a strategic stake and partnership with Oi. The move follows a capital increase by Oi. Subsequently, as a result of the capital increases undertaken as part of PT’s investment in Oi, the Brazilian firm’s net debt for 2010 was reduced by R$ 6.0 billion to R$ 12.7 billion. According to Portugal Telecom, Oi’s pro-forma net debt to EBITDA now stands at 1.2x, thus enhancing significantly Oi’s financial profile.

The stake was built through direct investments in the company and indirect positions in its biggest shareholders, Portugal Telecom said in a statement. The acquisition includes 25.6 per cent of Telemar Participacoes SA, the group that controls the Brazilian phone carrier.

Portugal Telecom’s investment in Oi will see the firm acquire a 35% stake in AG Telecom Participações S.A.; a 35% stake in LF Tel S.A.; a 12.07% stake in TmarPart; a 10.49% stake in TNL, and a 9.43% stake in TMAR. These combined investments equate to a 25.28% direct and indirect stake in Telemar Norte Leste, of which around two thirds are held directly in listed companies.

Portugal Telecom has also concluded the acquisition of a 16.2% stake in CTX for R$ 116 million. As a result of this purchase, the firm has acquired a direct and indirect stake (via AG and LF) of 42.0% in CTX, which will be proportionally consolidated as from 1 April 2011. Upon completion of both Oi’s and Contax’s transactions, Portugal Telecom will proportionally consolidate 25.6% of Oi and 44.4% of CTX and the total combined investment will stand at R$ 8.2 billion.

Following these transactions, the Portuguese telecoms major expects to benefit from a robust balance sheet and significant financial flexibility, with a cash flow profile consistent with its attractive shareholder remuneration policy and an investment grade rating.

Portugal Telecom is investing in Oi to tap growing demand for mobile-phone and Internet services in Brazil. The Portuguese carrier announced plans in July to buy a stake in Oi after selling its half of Vivo Participacoes SA, Brazil’s largest mobile-phone company.

In a statement Wednesday, Telefonica reiterated that the amount represents a 52 per cent increase over the previous four years. Fox Business indicated that the funds will be used to modernize and expand the Telefonica’s telecom network and launch products and services in the fixed and mobile telephony, mobile and fixed broadband and cable television segments, as well as acquire operating licenses.

Other than these, Alierta as well announced that a new innovation center will be established in Sao Paulo – Telefonica’s first outside Spain – to develop technological solutions for video and fiber-optic platforms. Fox Business quoted Alierta stating that Telefonica is investing heavily in expanding its services and networks with the aim of covering close to 100 per cent of Brazil’s municipalities with its telephone and broadband internet, both fixed and mobile.

Up till now, Telefonica has invested a total of 57.4 billion reais in Brazil since launching operations there in 1998. However, the fresh investment now brings up the sum to 82 billion reais. Currently, the Spanish telecoms giant is the leading telecoms operator in the Brazilian states of Sao Paolo with about 12 million customers and 3 million fixed broadband subscribers.

Telefonica acquired Brazil’s telecoms market leader, Vivo, last year, giving it the 30 per cent market share held by Vivo. Telefonica took control of Vivo after paying €7.5 billion to Portugal Telecom after a long struggle. Mr Alierta said Telefonica’s objective is to build the most modern networks in Brazil and be pioneers in introducing new technologies to the country.

In addition to its fixed line services in São Paulo state, the country’s richest and most populous; Telefónica owns a digital TV service, a big call-centre operation and one of Brazil’s biggest internet portals, the Financial Times reported separately.

Telefónica, S.A. is a Spanish broadband and telecommunications provider in Europe and Latin America. Operating globally, it is the fifth largest provider in the world. The company is the former public monopoly of telecommunications in Spain. Telefónica’s largest fixed-line operation in Latin America is in São Paulo where it provides broadband, local and long distance telephone services in the state, which alone represents the highest GDP of South America