Find out everything about the new adjustment of telephone service rates. Several consumers will be impacted by the change!
Anatel's Board of Directors approved last Friday (15) a readjustment in the tariffs of the Basic Service Plan of fixed-line telephone concessionaires, impacting calls to mobile phones and terminals of the Specialized Mobile Service.
The measure will affect users of different operators, such as Oi, Telefônica, Algar and Sercomtel, and will result in local calls from landlines to cell phones with more affordable costs for some users, but increased rates for others.
The adjustment specifically covers the rates of Communication Value 1, which are applied to calls between locations that have the same area code. This is due to the provisions of resolution no. 724/2020, which transferred National Long Distance calls to the tariff freedom regime.
Learn more about the adjustment now and find out how it will affect you.
Adjustment
Communication Values 2, used in calls between locations with the same first digits of the area code, and Communication Value 3, used in calls between locations that have different first digits of the area code, are not subject to tariff adjustment processes, and are applied in cases of the same area code.
To determine the adjustments, Anatel considered the variation of the Telecommunications Services Index and a transfer factor (X Factor). The accumulated value of the index did not exceed 10%, which means that it was not necessary to apply the Damping Factor, as provided for in the regulations.
Reasons for the adjustment
The different readjustment percentages for each dealership are the result of different periods considered for calculating the Index. For example, for the groups Hi and Telefônica, the period considered was from February 2022 to February 2023, while for the other groups, the analysis period was from January 2022 to January of this year.
The adjustments will have a direct impact on the bills of fixed and mobile phone users. For Oi Group users, there will be a reduction of 9.14% in the rates for local calls from fixed to mobile phones. Users of the Algar, Sercomtel and Telefônica groups will suffer an increase in rates of +2.57%, +1.81% and +3.84%, respectively.
The adjustments applied are below other indexes that measure the country's inflation, which can be considered good for consumers. The changes will come into effect after the publication of the approval acts in the Official Gazette of the Union, which should happen soon.
Fixed and mobile phone users should be aware of the changes, as they will have a direct impact on their communications costs. It is important to check the new rates and plans offered by operators to ensure that the most appropriate choice is made, based on your needs and budget. Anatel will continue to monitor the telecommunications sector to ensure that the adjustments are fair and beneficial to consumers as well.
Anatel
Recently, Anatel also changed the rules for portability on cell phones. Portability is a consumer right, where they can have the option of changing operators without losing their current telephone number.
The changes were made due to an increase in the number of so-called “portability scams”, where criminals impersonate the user to port the device and hijack the victims’ telephone line.
With the scam, the criminals gained access to the messages, calls and social networks of the user who owned the line. With this, they began to ask for money and sell fake objects to people close to the victim, pretending to be them.
