Lula Wants to Know Why Brazil’s Basic Monthly Phone Fee Jumped from US$ 3 to US$ 18

Brazil’s Minister of Communications, Hélio Costa, said that, at the request of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Ministry is preparing a report on the basic monthly fee charged for fixed telephone services.

The report will be delivered to the President at Friday’s, August 12, ministerial meeting. “He asked me to prepare a detailed report so that he can discuss this in broad terms with the economic sector,” Costa added.


Also in response to a presidential request, Costa will hold a meeting next Thursday, August 18, in the Ministry to express once more the government’s concern over this matter, which he classified as a “social outcry.”


Costa informed that on the trip back to Brasí­lia from Belo Horizonte last week, he presented a report on the charging of this fee, and the President was very impressed with the debate.


The Minister of Communications is in favor of eliminating the basic monthly fee for fixed telephone services. “I defend the elimination, but there are tendencies within the government that defend a gradual reduction of the basic monthly fee,” he said.


He went on to say that, when telephone services were privatized in 1997, the basic monthly fee was the equivalent of US$ 3, and now it is around US$ 18.


“I don’t understand why, because the number of fixed telephones has remained strictly the same over the last five years. There was no increase; nevertheless, the prices rose far above the rate of inflation, let it be said in passing,” he concluded.


The basic monthly fee was instituted to pay for the expansion of fixed telephone services.


Agência Brasil

Tags:

You May Also Like

Most of Brazil’s Volvo Buses Are Shipped Overseas

Brazil’s Volvo has exported about 280 trucks to Saudi Arabia between January and July. ...

Brazil Gets US$ 1.3 Billion from World Bank for Environment Control

Brazil is going to get an US$ 1.3 billion loan from the World Bank ...

Ecological Heaters from Brazil Save Money and Recycle Plastic Containers

The largest ecological heater of Brazil, using the sun, was installed in the city ...

Brazil’s Postal Service Wants Name Out of Kickback Scandal

The hearings are live on TV. They begin at 10 am and sometimes they ...

Money Grows in Brazil at a Rate of 24% a Year

Brazil’s monetary base (money in circulation) grew 0.9% in September, reaching a total of ...

Brazil Reassured That Finance Minister Won’t Fall

Latin American markets sank, with Brazilian and Mexican shares falling on profit taking following ...

Brazil’s New Finance Minister Is Italian Economist, Opposed to High Interest Rates

As an economic aide to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Guido Mantega, Brazil’s ...

Brazil Insists in Africa: Trade Is Two-Way Lane

The essence of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s trip to five African ...

RAPIDINHAS

In a country as regionally minded as Brazil would it make sense to have ...

They Own 90% of the Media in Maranhão, Brazil, and Still Accuse Me of Abuse of Power

A coup is being planned in the state of Maranhão: a behind-the-scenes attack on ...