ABR Telecom: What It Is and Its Role in Brazilian Telecommunications

What ABR Telecom means for your operation

If you run an ISP, a regional carrier, or a contact center in Brazil, ABR Telecom is part of your daily workflow, whether you realize it or not. The Brazilian Association of Telecommunications Resources is a private non-profit entity created in 2002 by the carriers themselves to manage technical systems required by Anatel. It is the central mechanism that connects your company to the mandatory regulatory processes of the sector.

In practice, ABR Telecom operates the systems you need to access in order to port numbers, request numbering ranges, contract wholesale inputs, and report quality indicators. Without it, each of these processes would require direct interaction with Anatel or bilateral negotiations with other carriers, something unfeasible in a market with hundreds of providers.

The four roles that directly affect your company

ABR Telecom performs four formal regulatory functions, each created by a specific Anatel resolution. Understanding these functions helps you navigate your operation's regulatory obligations more effectively.

EA: Number portability

If you are a receiving or donor carrier in portability processes, you interact with ABR Telecom daily. As the Portability Management Entity (EA), created by Resolution 460/2007, ABR Telecom manages the BDR (Reference Database) and coordinates synchronization with your company's BDO (Operational Database).

What this means in practice: your BDO needs to be synchronized with the BDR every 15 minutes. If synchronization fails, calls can be routed to the wrong carrier, generating customer complaints and potential Anatel notifications. Your engineering team must monitor this process continuously.

EASI: Numbering

Need new numbering ranges to expand your operation? The path goes through ABR Telecom. As the Computerized System Management Entity (EASI), it operates nSAPN, the system where you request, reserve, and receive numbering resource assignments. Established by Resolution 709/2019, the use of nSAPN is mandatory for STFC, SMP, SME, and SMGS providers.

The portal easi.abrtelecom.com.br is the interface your regulatory team needs to master. Without familiarity with the numbering request and reservation processes, your company may face delays in activating new customers or expanding to new areas.

ESOA: Wholesale offers

For ISPs and regional carriers, the ESOA (Wholesale Offers Supervisory Entity) is perhaps ABR Telecom's most relevant role. Created by Resolution 600/2012 under the PGMC framework, the ESOA operates SNOA, the National Wholesale Offers System.

Through the portal esoa.abrtelecom.com.br, you can contract products such as EILD (dedicated lines), Backhaul, Bitstream, duct and pole sharing, and interconnection. These are inputs that carriers with Significant Market Power (SMP/PMS) are required to offer transparently and without discrimination. If you are still negotiating these inputs bilaterally without consulting SNOA, you may be paying more than you should.

ESAQ: Service quality

The ESAQ (Quality Measurement Support Entity), established by Resolution 717/2019, collects and publishes quality indicators that directly impact your company's reputation. In operation since March 2022, ESAQ calculates the IR (Complaints Index), the IQS (Service Quality Index), and the IQP (Perceived Quality Index).

These indicators are public and disaggregated by municipality. This means your customers can compare your service quality with competitors in the same city. If your indicators are strong, use them as a competitive differentiator. If not, it is time to investigate where the bottlenecks are.

Beyond the four roles: what else matters to you

ABR Telecom also operates the Verified Origin (Origem Verificada) system, which lets consumers identify the company calling before answering. If your operation involves outbound calls, such as contact centers or collections teams, this system directly affects your answer rates. Calls identified through Verified Origin tend to have significantly higher answer rates.

Another important area is the management of Interconnection Databases, which contain the technical information needed for different carrier networks to communicate. If you operate STFC and exchange voice traffic with other networks, the integrity of these databases is essential for correct call completion.

What to do with this information

For carriers and providers, the relationship with ABR Telecom is not optional. Its portals are daily work tools for engineering, regulatory, and operations teams. Some practical actions for your company:

• Ensure your team knows and has access to the portals easi.abrtelecom.com.br and esoa.abrtelecom.com.br
• Monitor the synchronization of your BDO with the portability BDR
• Regularly check SNOA for more advantageous wholesale inputs
• Track your quality indicators on ESAQ and use them to guide infrastructure investments
• Register with Verified Origin if your operation involves outbound calls

Understanding how ABR Telecom works and actively using its systems is not just a regulatory obligation. It is an operational competency that can reduce costs, improve your service quality, and open growth opportunities.

References

• Law 9,472/1997 (General Telecommunications Law): https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/l9472.htm
• Decree 2,338/1997: https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/decreto/d2338.htm
• Resolution 460/2007 (Portability): https://informacoes.anatel.gov.br/legislacao/resolucoes/22-2007/8-resolucao-460
• Resolution 600/2012 (PGMC): https://informacoes.anatel.gov.br/legislacao/resolucoes/34-2012/425-resolucao-600
• Resolution 709/2019 (Numbering): https://informacoes.anatel.gov.br/legislacao/resolucoes/2019/1261-resolucao-709
• Resolution 717/2019 (RQUAL): https://informacoes.anatel.gov.br/legislacao/resolucoes/2019/1371-resolucao-717