Brazil Establishes Regulatory Management Board for M2M

Brazil's communication ministry has previously forecast that M2M terminals and devices will increase to 23.3 million before the end of 2016, about 33% growth from 17.5 million terminals at present. This was made following the confirmation of the tax cuts on installation and operation inspection fees for M2M terminals in Brazil. The regulation aimed to bring down operating costs for most Brazilian telecommunication operators. Following the approval of the tax cut, the Brazilian Government has also encouraged both local and international companies to invest in the country's growing M2M communications industry. A more recent report from Brazil's communications ministry (Mincom) shows that Brazil may likely reach the said earlier expected number of M2M connections and this is mainly driven by the newly enforced tax breaks that cut TFI fees by 80 percent.

With the M2M connections and devices escalating in number, Brazil's Ministry of Communications has recently established a Management Board for the Development of Machine to Machine (M2M) Systems. The ministry aims to gather information from companies operating in the segment. Artur Coimbra, Director of Broadband at the Communication Ministry, said that the management board's responsibility includes monitoring developments in M2M communication as well as the emergence of new M2M applications. The board will also coordinate between providers of telecom services, manufacturers, operators, as well as research & development companies to further enhance and advance the country's M2M industry.

Coimbra further added that the members of the board will also work on formulating new public policies for this growing sector of the country. The ministry also expects that the M2M equipment market will exponentially grow in medium term.

Brazilian M2M companies such as Parlacom Brasil, one of the leading machine-to-machine providers in Latin America, are very eager to participate and coordinate with the Ministry to boost the country's M2M coverage. "With the Management Board in place, M2M providers and operators in Brazil are looking forward to the various programs and initiatives that will help strengthen and boost the industry." CEO and Founder of Parlacom Brasil, Clovis Lacerda affirmed.

"Brazil, being one of the largest in population, surely has one of the richest resource for this kind of ecosystem. With cheap, ubiquitous digital products and services, digital startups can help penetrate and build up the economy of the country, eventually reshaping industries and causing a big digital, industrial economic explosion", Lacerda further said.