BRASILIA (Reuters) – The Brazilian unit of Spanish telecom Telefonica SA said on Tuesday that it had agreed with Canadian pension fund CDPQ to create a joint venture to develop a \u201cneutral and independent\u201d wholesale fiber optic network in Brazil.<\/p>\n
According to a securities filing, Caisse de d\u00e9p\u00f4t et placement du Qu\u00e9bec (CDPQ) will invest up to 1.8 billion reais ($317 million) in the venture, receiving a 50% voting share. Telefonica Brasil will have a 25% voting stake, while Telefonica Infra, another subsidiary of the Spanish company, will have the remaining 25% share.<\/p>\n
The new venture, called FiBrasil Infraestrutura e Fibra \u00d3tica S.A., aims to reach 5.5 million households within 4 years.<\/p>\n
Telefonica will be an \u201canchor customer\u201d for FiBrasil and contribute some 1.6 million homes already in service.<\/p>\n
Telefonica Chief Operating Officer Angel Vila said last week that the company was in talks with an investor to expand high speed fiber coverage to more Brazilian cities, following a similar project in Germany with insurer Allianz. Vila had not named the investor in the Brazil project at the time.<\/p>\n
($1 = 5.6761 reais)<\/p>\n
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