The Associação Brasileira de Infraestrutura para as Telecomunicações (ABRINTEL) was created back in 2013 with the goal to gather and represent tower companies across the country. Its members include top executives from Brazilian towercos with the common goal to give a strong voice to the industry and strengthen its position in the country.
I have recently spoken with Lourenço Pinto Coelho, the President of the Board of the association, who shared with TowerXchange insights into ABRINTEL’s role in Brazil, commented on the Lei das Antenas and on the overall status of the Brazilian tower industry.
TowerXchange: Please tell us about ABRINTEL, its mission and current organisation
Lourenço Pinto Coelho, President, ABRINTEL:
ABRINTEL has the mission to educate regulatory bodies, the government as well as the civil society on the importance of a stable and transparent regulatory environment. Our goal is to create strong foundations for international and local investors able to contribute to the expansion of the telecom infrastructure sector, which is vital in order to boost mobile penetration across the country.
ABRINTEL is organised with an Administrative Council as well as a Board of Directors of which I am currently President. To date, the association includes members from top towercos active in Brazil including American Tower, SBA Communications, Grupo TorreSur, Phoenix Tower International, Cell Site Solutions and QMC Telecom.
TowerXchange: What is the status of the Lei das Antenas? And is it proving useful?
Lourenço Pinto Coelho, President, ABRINTEL:
The law is approved and it is helping towercos seek permits to a certain extent. In fact, the problem is that municipalities still hold their own autonomy when it comes to regulating the use and occupation of the ground. We still face the opposition of certain cities to the launch of greenfield projects and the installation of sites.
We are promoting the alignment of municipalities and their local regulations to the federal law (Lei das Antenas) in order to smoothen and expedite the authorisation process as well as the installation of new towers. Additionally, by complying with the Lei das Antenas, pending authorisations for already installed sites should be resolved rapidly.
TowerXchange: How many towers are being built in Brazil each month/year?
Lourenço Pinto Coelho, President, ABRINTEL:
There are approximately 2,000 new sites being built each year and we’ve calculated an estimated 70,000 sites already in place, between towers, monopoles and rooftops.
This number isn’t low and represents quite a substantial growth achieved in a few years. However, a friendlier regulatory environment would still contribute to enhance the level of investment in the country, hence guaranteeing a deeper level of penetration and an overall positive impact on the speed of data, capacity, coverage and quality of service.
TowerXchange: How do you foresee the tower industry shaping up in the next 12-18 months?
Lourenço Pinto Coelho, President, ABRINTEL:
Much depends on the elimination of barriers to construction and installation in municipalities such as São Paulo, among others.
We believe that the key problem is the excessive time required for licensing and the lack of a clear regulatory framework for greenfield projects. The telecom industry is one of the main catalysts for the creation of digital cities and digital nations and it’s a top priority to ensure that local authorities enable this process by providing clear and straightforward rules and regulations.
TowerXchange: Is ABRINTEL working as technical advisor to municipalities or other local entities? Is it useful and why?
Lourenço Pinto Coelho, President, ABRINTEL:
Since its creation, ABRINTEL has been supporting different regulatory bodies and key stakeholders in the understanding of the tower industry and its challenges. For example, over the past few years, we’ve been working with the São Paulo administration and City Council to present and discuss the Lei de Uso e Ocupação do Solo (Law for the Use and Occupancy of Soil).
local regulatory hurdles concern investors more than a temporary phase of economic turmoil
Unfortunately, our technical recommendations aren’t always translated into specific actions and sometimes the rationale behind a certain decision is political rather than technical. In any case, we are working together with local and federal authorities to improve the national and local telecom regulatory framework. This process isn’t only useful, it’s necessary!
TowerXchange: How is the Brazilian economy affecting the tower industry?
Lourenço Pinto Coelho, President, ABRINTEL:
I believe that local regulatory hurdles concern investors more than a temporary phase of economic turmoil. And this is one of the key reasons why we are so involved in working with and advising local and national authorities.
Anyone interested in finding out more about ABRINTEL can visit www.abrintel.org.br
