The ‘fiberization’ of Brazilian internet service providers

Of the more than 15,000 internet service providers licensed in Brazil, 89% of them now offer fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and 70% provide services exclusively using their own infrastructure – that is, via networks built by themselves.

These are some of the findings of the ICT Providers 2020 survey, conducted by the regional center for studies for the development of the information society, Cetic, which is related to the Brazilian internet steering committee CGI. The results of the survey were presented at an online event on Wednesday.

In the previous survey carried out by Cetic, based on data from 2017, some 78% of ISPs in Brazil said they offered FTTH, and 77% provided services to the end user exclusively through their own infrastructure.

The results indicate, on the one hand, that internet via fiber has become the core business of the vast majority of Brazilian ISPs and, on the other, that there has been a decline in the number of players relying on self-built networks.

The number of players using third-party built networks increased to 25% in 2020 from 21% in 2017.

That is small growth, but it is symbolic of the model of neutral or wholesale fiber networks being pushed in the country both by independent companies focused on telecom infrastructure and by large operators.

In both cases, the assumption for the business model is that there is demand to lease fiber networks to providers and small operators.

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As for other types of service provision, 71% of the ISPs offered internet via wireless access using non-licensed spectrum, 25% via wireless over licensed spectrum, 47% via UTP (ethernet) cable and 13% via cable modem. More than one type of service could be selected.

According to the Cetic study, 62% of ISPs delivered internet download speeds above 101Mbps in 2020, and 19% between 51Mbps and 100Mbps, which shows the predominance of high-speed networks in these businesses. In 2017, these percentages were 20% and 17%, respectively.

Cetic’s study also shows that 26% of the ISPs had between 1,001 and 3,000 clients, 22% between 501-1,000 and 27% between 101-500. Only 6% had more than 6,000 clients.

As of the end of 2020, ISPs and small operators led the market in terms of customers served in 3,470 Brazilian municipalities, according to a report from regulator Anatel.

Anatel's report stated that there were 15,600 fixed broadband providers in the country in 2020 and more than 80% of the cities that are home to over 90% of the Brazilian population had five or more providers.

As of May, these providers were responsible for 37.3% of the 37.4mn active fixed broadband accesses in Brazil, according to Anatel. Meanwhile, market leader América Móvil’s Claro had a 26.2% share of the market, followed by Telefônica Brasil (17.0%) and Oi (13.9%).

However, considering only accesses via fiber, ISPs' combined market share jumps to 46.5%. 

In this segment, the leading company is Telefônica Brasil, with 19.6% of fiber accesses, followed by Oi (14.9%).