Brazil Leads on Spectrum Re-Farming for the Deployment of Next-Generation Mobile Broadband Services

LONDON, August 17, 2010 - The GSMA today congratulated ANATEL, the Brazilian telecommunications
regulator, for taking a leadership position on spectrum re-farming. ANATEL's
decision to re-allocate spectrum in the technology neutral 2.6 GHz band to
support the nationwide deployment of next-generation Mobile Broadband
services will provide mobile operators in Brazil with a clear future
investment path for the country's mobile network infrastructure.

ANATEL's decision is also consistent with the ITU's Option 1(i) for
international 2.6GHz spectrum harmonisation, currently being followed by the
majority of mobile operators worldwide. This ensures that Brazil will follow
a standardised approach to global Mobile Broadband deployment, safeguarding
technology compatibility and network handover capabilities. Spectrum
harmonisation in this band means that Brazilian operators will benefit from
the vast economies of scale that the GSM ecosystem offers, driving down
equipment and device costs, which can be passed on to customers.

"We are delighted that ANATEL has made the decision to re-farm the 2.6GHz
spectrum band to support the provision of next generation Mobile Broadband
services across Brazil," said Tom Phillips, Chief Government and Regulatory
Affairs Officer, GSMA. "Other countries such as Mexico, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia
and South Africa would benefit from similar rulings whereby existing spectrum
is intelligently re-allocated for Mobile Broadband deployment as part of
global spectrum harmonisation, driving widespread socio-economic benefits for
governments and consumers and generating additional revenue for operators."

Brazil's 2.6GHz spectrum band had previously been allocated to MMDS
operators to support pay-per-view TV services. This ruling will not impact
these operators, who will keep 70MHz(ii) of spectrum (50 MHz of TDD and 2 X
10 MHz of FDD). ANATEL's decision does mean that the country's mobile
operators will benefit from the majority of this spectrum, stating that
120MHz should be auctioned off by mid-2013(iii). Mobile operators in Brazil
also have the option of deploying LTE immediately, should they acquire an
MMDS operator currently holding spectrum licenses.

Ensuring the necessary spectrum is available will pave the way for
Brazilian operators to follow the clear upgrade path from existing HSPA
technology, which continues to enjoy impressive growth across Brazil, to LTE.
Both HSPA and LTE are members of the GSM family of technologies and provide
impressive Mobile Broadband service delivery and performance. By combining
the two technologies and leveraging the vast global GSM ecosystem, Brazil
will have at its disposal a cost-effective broadband network capable of
supporting the expected increase in traffic that will result from hosting
major global events such as the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications
industry. Spanning 219 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world's
mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile
ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers,
Internet companies, and media and entertainment organisations. The GSMA is
focused on innovating, incubating and creating new opportunities for its
membership, all with the end goal of driving the growth of the mobile
communications industry.

For more information, please visit Mobile World Live, the new online
portal for the mobile communications industry, at
www.mobileworldlive.com or the GSMA corporate website at
www.gsmworld.com.

(i) ITU Option 1 (ITU-R M.1036-3), for 2.6GHz spectrum allocation
dictates that 2 X 70 MHz FDD (2500 MHz-2570 MHz paired with 2620 MHz-2690
MHz)be allocated to Mobile Broadband deployment and 50 MHz is allocated to
TDD (2570 MHz to 2620 MHz).

(ii) MMDS operators will, according to the resolution, have both 50MHz
TDD as well as 20MHz FDD spectrum (2 X 10 MHz, in the form of 2500 MHz-2510
MHz paired with 2620 MHz-2630 MHz)

(iii) The auctions will most likely see 3 licenses of 2 X 20 MHz being
made available

    For press enquiries, please contact:
    Paul Nolan, Howard Jones, Alexia da Silva, CCGroup
    mobilebroadband@ccgrouppr.com
    T: +44-118-9207650

Paul Nolan, Howard Jones, Alexia da Silva, all of CCGroup, mobilebroadband at ccgrouppr.com, +44-118-9207650, for GSMA