success story
VIVO BRAZIL
REMOTE
REACH
Revisiting Brazilian operator,
Vivo following the complete
transformation of its network
TALKING ABOUT
NEXT GENERATION
Customer Profile
Vivo is a joint venture of Portugal Telecom
and the Telefonica group for the mobile
market in Brazil. Vivo is the foremost
mobile operator in the South Hemisphere
with the largest market share and
around 50 million users. Anatel (Brazilian
Telecommunications Regulator Agency)
rated Vivo the mobile telecommunication
company that provides the highest quality
of service. Vivo prides itself on offering a
leading portfolio of services and enjoys
strong relationships with its customers.
Website: www.vivo.com.br
In 2006, we reported on Vivo’s
collaboration with Ericsson to
introduce a GSM overlay of Vivo’s
network in preparation for 3G.
Fast forward to today and Vivo’s
leadership in the market continues
to grow.
Telecom operators in Brazil are in a
unique position. As a key emerging
market and Latin America’s leading
investment destination, Brazil has
no restrictions on foreign telecoms
capital and competition is positively
encouraged by the government.
This produces an extremely
aggressive environment in which
the four main operators are closely
balanced and success is determined
through quick reaction to customer
demands.
Fast progress
Brazil holds almost one third of all
mobile users in Latin America and
the market is still growing rapidly;
Vivo has the highest market share
at 35 percent. Working closely with
Ericsson to maintain and expand
on this position, Vivo deployed
a GSM overlay of its network
across the country to deliver voice
services. The solution increased
competitiveness and provided high
quality network coverage and huge
capacity. It also prepared Vivo for
the introduction of 3G/WCDMA.
Two years later, Vivo and Ericsson
rolled out a nationwide WCDMA/
HSPA network which has enabled
Vivo to offer mobile broadband
and multimedia services. The 3G
project included a mobile backhaul
solution with MINI-LINK, SDH Long
Haul radios and opto solutions as
well as the Ericsson Multi Activation
System (EMA). As a result Vivo has
become the first mobile operator in
Latin America to have an uplink of
up to 5.8Mbps. Vivo also signed a
managed services agreement that
involved field maintenance of its
network as well as network rollout,
support services and professional
services. As part of the contract
Ericsson has a team of solution
architects working on Systems
Integration within the Vivo offices.
New places new prospects
Since the evolution of its network,
Vivo has broadened its service
offering and tapped into new
revenue streams. Subscribers have
enjoyed a richer communication
and multimedia experience with
next-generation mobile broadband
services, including high-speed
mobile internet, TV and video and
music. As part of the 3G license
agreement, Vivo committed to
providing coverage to a number
of cities, including remote areas in
the Amazon region. In addition to
the strict timeline, the expansive
area to be covered and amount
of transmission needed, the
geography brought with it a number
of challenges. André Machado,
Commercial Vice-President & KAM,
Ericsson explains the difficulties:
“This is an unpredictable region
where we need to use several
types of transportation to transfer
equipment and there are extreme
weather conditions to deal with
every day. This is not an easy project
logistically but we have been working
very closely with Vivo to ensure its
success. Already we have been able
to provide mobile telephony services
to cities in the area.”
The effect of this project for the rural
Amazon population is likely to be
hugely significant. It is expected that
the development will bring financial,
educational and health benefits and
locals have held celebratory parties
on the launch, excited about the
possibilities. Leonardo Capdeville,
Network Planning & Technology
Director, Vivo describes the work
Ericsson’s
expertise and the
proximity of the
engineering teams
guaranteed the
success of the
project.”
Leonardo Capdeville,
Network Planning & Technology Director,
Vivo, Brazil
carried out to make this happen:
“This required a massive planning
effort of our activities to make sure
the logistics ran like clockwork. If
even one small part was missing
it could undermine the efforts to
transport the team by air, road and
river over distances that could take
days to cover. From this point of view,
Ericsson’s expertise and the proximity
of the engineering teams guaranteed
the success of the project.”
Local meets global
A key success factor for the project
was Ericsson’s strong presence in
Brazil which meant that it could easily
source the right specialists, train them
very quickly and meet the aggressive
rollout schedules. The local workforce
meant that Ericsson could react
quickly to Vivo’s needs, which in turn
has contributed to Vivo being able
to quickly meet its own customer
demands. Leonardo Capdeville
elaborates: “Ericsson has substantial
experience in Brazil; it definitely has
the best technical staff and partners.
With the challenging situation involving
technology migration and strong
growth, this expertise is fundamental.”
Vivo has maintained its leading
position in the mobile market with
the largest market share and almost
50 million subscribers. In addition,
Vivo has been rated as the operator
with the best network quality in
Brazil, as measured by the officially
recognized organization Anatel
(Brazilian Telecommunications
Regulator Agency). Ericsson and Vivo
have faced many challenges together
and the relationship endured many
demands in order to overcome the
difficulties of the project. However,
Ericsson AB
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Telephone: +46 10 719 0000
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This is not an easy project
logistically but we
have been working
very closely with Vivo
to ensure its success.”
André Machado,
Commercial Vice-President & KAM, Ericsson
after nearly three years of intensive
work, the partnership has evolved
and strengthened. The next step for
Vivo will be IMS and 4G (LTE) and
due to the established relationship
and success of the existing
Managed Services agreement, Vivo
can rely on Ericsson’s support with
future challenges.
overview
Customer:
Vivo, Brazil
Customer Objective
> Increase market share
> Faster time-to-market
> Future-proof network
real IMPACTS
For people in the Amazon region of Brazil the
Ericsson Solution
groundbreaking partnership between Vivo
> GSM overlay
and Ericsson will have profound effects.
> Network deployment
Covering more than 5 million sq km,
> Managed Services
the Amazon remains one of the most
> Systems Integration
remote regions on earth. However,
>Ericsson Multi Activation System
through mobile broadband the villages
(EMA)
of the Amazon will now enjoy access
to e-health and e-education services.
Specialist applications will include the
Customer Benefits
implementation of a mobile survey
> A broader service offering
tool that will monitor environmental
> New revenue streams
impacts, diagnose patients, facilitate
communication with the communities, and
>Expanded reach in rural areas.
run studies to monitor the life quality index.
To find out more about this article contact
André Machado
Email: andre.machado@ericsson.com
47/213 31-FGB 101 118 Uen A
© Ericsson AB 2010