TCU clears spectrum renewals for Vivo in Brazil

On Wednesday, 16 September, the plenary of Brazil's Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) decided unanimously that there are no obstacles to the first extension of spectrum authorizations held by Telefônica Brasil, owner of the Vivo brand. The decision covers frequencies in the 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 1,900 MHz, and 2,100 MHz bands.

The ruling followed the vote of reporting judge Odair Cunha in process 007.650/2023-0. This proceeding monitors procedures carried out by Brazil's telecom regulator, Anatel, for personal mobile service authorizations across the E, F, H, I, and M bands, with reference to the Garliava–Oi transaction. The court concluded that Telefônica Brasil met the requirements of Normative Instruction 81/2018 and found no impediments to Anatel's Decision 374/2022.

Cunha criticized Anatel's methodology for assessing rational spectrum use and highlighted repeated infractions by the operator. However, the court ruled that these issues are procedural and regulatory in nature and should be corrected by Anatel in future processes without invalidating the renewal. The court grounded its position in the principle of public service continuity to prevent direct harm to users.

The judge noted that the court has handled similar renewal reviews for other operators, including Claro, TIM, and Algar. On 11 February, the TCU validated the first renewal of Claro's 800 MHz, 900 MHz, and 1,800 MHz bands, extending the 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz licenses through December 2032 while ordering Anatel to publish objective spectrum evaluation rules within 180 days.