Brazilian telecommunications sector regulator Anatel approved the law 12.485/2011 which was voted in Congress last year and unifies the rules for pay-TV in Brazil. The new law opens the market for telephone companies, reduces restrictions on foreign capital in the sector and establishes quotas for local content on pay-TV programming. According to Anatel, the regulation simplifies the procedure for awarding concessions to operators interested in providing services via cable.

According to agency director, Rodrigo Zerbone, from now on, companies that want authorisation to operate the service will pay a set fee and there is no need to go through a bidding process. As a result of the new rules, Anatel expects that the number of cable TV subscribers in Brazil will double over the next five years. Currently, this figure reaches 13.3 million. The estimated time for the release of new licenses is around 30 days after delivery of all documents required by the agency.