Brazil`s service providers will no longer be able to require customers to buy a phone line if they buy a broadband service.
Anatel, Brazil`s telecom regulator, said they have taken "precautionary measures" against the country`s dominant service providers Telefonica (NYSE: TEF), Telemar (Sao Paolo: TMAR5.SA), GVT, CTBC and Brasil Telecom (NYSE: BTM), mandating they no longer market as part of a dual-play phone/data bundle. Even though Brazil`s Code of Consumer Protection vetoed `bundling,` these service providers continued to market their services this way. Any service provider that violates Anatel`s rules could face up to $14.3 million in fines.
Allowing consumers to buy standalone broadband service is not an issue relegated to Brazil. A similar fight took place earlier this century between the U.S.-based RBOCs and regulators over selling standalone "naked DSL" to consumers. Led initially by Qwest (NYSE: Q) and progressive independent ILECs such as Warwick Valley Telephone, eventually all of the major broadband providers began offering a "naked DSL" service offering that did not require the consumer to purchase a phone line.