Brazil’s competition authority, CADE, has approved the expansion of network sharing agreements (RAN sharing) between TIM and Telefônica (Vivo), covering 2G, 3G and 4G technologies. The approval, granted on October 22, is subject to the signing of a Merger Control Agreement (ACC) imposing behavioral commitments and a reduction in the geographic scope of the arrangement.
The transaction amends previously approved sharing agreements dating back to 2019, expanding their coverage to new municipalities. According to the parties, the expansion was motivated by technical incompatibilities in the original implementation and by the desire to include additional areas in the partnership.
During its assessment, CADE raised concerns about the breadth of the proposed expansion and the absence of sufficient detail about its implementation. The authority warned that such a broad agreement could pose risks to competition if left unchecked. After a negotiation process led by Reporting Commissioner Diogo Thomson, the operators agreed to a set of commitments designed to mitigate those risks.
Under the negotiated solution, the companies will narrow the geographical scope of the agreement and comply with transparency and monitoring obligations. They must publish the complete list of municipalities involved, maintain existing levels of coverage and service quality for 3G and 4G technologies, and avoid any reduction in those standards. The arrangement will also be subject to continuous monitoring by CADE, with potential technical support from Anatel, Brazil’s telecommunications regulator, under a cooperation framework between the two agencies.
Commissioner Thomson described the outcome as a “proportional and technically anchored solution,” noting that what is pro-competitive in the agreement has been approved, while elements considered harmful have been restricted. He emphasized that the case required close coordination between CADE, Anatel and other government bodies, highlighting the growing importance of institutional cooperation in complex network-sharing cases.
With the commitments embedded in the ACC, CADE’s tribunal unanimously cleared the transaction. The decision reflects the authority’s cautious but pragmatic stance on infrastructure-sharing in telecommunications, recognizing the potential efficiencies of network cooperation while ensuring that such arrangements do not undermine competition or reduce service quality for consumers.
