As reported by the country’s regulator Anatel, there were 173.96 Million registered SIM cards in Brazil at the end of 2009, representing a year-on-year increase of 23.3 Million, as per the news published by TeleGeography.

 

Compared to 3.6 Million SIM cards registered in December 2008, the number added in December 2009 reached 4.2 Million. The cellular penetration in the country reached 90.55% as of the end of 2009.

 

The main factor that led to such significant gains in 2009 has been a strong push from the top mobile phone players. To draw more users, or say, to expand the consumer base, these leading mobile phone companies increased their promotional activities, which offered packages such as free talk time and/or discounts on various services. Then, lower rate of unemployment and a quick rebound in the country’s economy last year also helped enhancing the consumer demand.

 

Furthermore, the growing wireless services demand from the wealthier states like the capital Brasilia and Sao Paulo also benefitted the mobile phone companies a great deal. Number portability and new technologies like 3G introduced last years also played a significant role in the growth of the market.

 

The Brazilian mobile market is highly competitive. In the beginning of 2009, Vivo Participators was the country’s leading operator by subscribers with a 29.8% market share. Telecom Americas (Claro) at 25.5%, Telecom Italia’s TIM Participacoes (TIM Brasil) unit at 23.6%, and Telemar Norte Leste (Oi) at 20.7% were the other leading players to follow.

 

According to the president of the mobile company Claro, Joao Cox, American Movil SAB's Brazilian unit, the number of mobile phones in Brazil will be equal to the country’s population by the end of this year (2010), thereby providing wireless carriers in quest of growth a huge opportunity, as per the news published by Bloomberg.

 

According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “As a result of positive reactions to the remarkable surge in the mobile phone users in Brazil by the global telecommunications market, the current scenario of the four mobile companies dominating the Brazilian market is likely to change soon. Though Brazil is highly penetrated, it still offers enormous growth opportunities, which makes it an attractive investment destination.”