Through broadband – indeed

247 – The National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) may take a big step this Thursday towards improving broadband in Brazil. Anatel's Board of Directors will meet today to vote on new internet quality rules in the country. This regulation bothers – and, of course, unites – the owners of broadband operators, who may have to change the delivery of the service offered to Brazilians. Currently, a large part of these companies only provides consumers with 10% of the speed they contracted for. It is this sluggish and slow internet that Brazilians want to get rid of. 

Yesterday, the 90 institutions organizing the campaign “Broadband is your right!” participated in a Twitter campaign in favor of improved service quality in the country. The hashtag #qualidadeja (quality now), a clear warning to the directors of Anatel (the Brazilian telecommunications regulatory agency) and the bigwigs of the telephony industry, was trending on Twitter during the afternoon and early evening. Brasil 247 also echoed this demand from authorities and business leaders. Our readers joined in and also called for #qualidadeja.

Orlei Bacil Junior, from São João do Triunfo (PR)
"Here in my city, the internet quality is terrible! The only option available is radio! I pay 53 reais for 200 kbps." 

Stéfan Simon, from Panambi (RS)
"Here we only have Oi, R$ 90 for a 600 kb 'broadband' connection."

Like Orlei and Stefan, what consumers want is faster web access. And, if the Kbps speed doesn't match the contracted amount, they expect a discount on their bill proportional to the undelivered speed. They also demand quality standards in customer service – stipulating a maximum timeframe for service repairs, installations, and handling complaints.

Another claim concerns maintaining the maximum network usage capacity. Consumer protection agencies believe the ideal limit is 80% - thus avoiding network overload and connection problems.