PGMC: Brazil's General Plan for Competition Goals in Telecommunications

What the PGMC means for ISPs and regional operators

If you are a regional internet provider or a small STFC operator, the General Plan for Competition Goals (PGMC) is likely the regulatory instrument that most directly affects your business viability. Approved by Resolution 600/2012 and updated by Resolution 694/2018, the PGMC requires large operators with Significant Market Power (PMS) to provide access to their infrastructure under regulated conditions. In practice, this is what allows you to purchase backhaul, backbone, and last-mile access from major operators without being held hostage to abusive commercial terms.

This article explains how the PGMC works, what obligations it creates for dominant operators, and most importantly, how you can use these rules to your advantage when expanding your operation.

Significant Market Power: who are the obligated operators

The central concept of the PGMC is Significant Market Power (PMS). Anatel classifies as PMS the operators whose infrastructure is so dominant in certain markets that competitors depend on it to provide their services. In practice, Vivo, Claro, and TIM have been consistently classified as holding PMS in several relevant markets.

The PMS classification generates concrete regulatory obligations. These operators cannot simply deny access to their infrastructure or offer unfavorable conditions to smaller providers. Anatel defines the relevant markets where obligations apply, in categories such as the wholesale high-capacity data transport market, the wholesale fixed network infrastructure market, and the wholesale roaming market.

For your operation, this is critical. If you need to purchase a dedicated link, access ducts and poles, or use dark fiber from a PMS operator, that operator is legally required to offer access under regulated conditions.

The three obligations that protect your operation

The PGMC establishes three categories of obligations for PMS operators that you need to know to exercise your rights.

The first is the reference offer obligation. PMS operators must publish standardized offers for wholesale products, with transparent prices, technical conditions, and delivery timelines. This means that before starting any negotiation, you can consult the reference offer and know exactly what is available and at what cost. If the operator tries to charge different prices from those published, you have a regulatory basis to challenge the practice.

The second is the non-discrimination obligation. The PMS operator cannot offer better conditions for its own retail operations than those offered to you at the wholesale level. If Vivo, for example, offers a 10 Gbps link for its own broadband operation at a certain price, it must offer the same product to you under equivalent conditions.

The third is the transparency obligation. All commercial and technical conditions of wholesale products must be public and accessible. This rule enables the entire market to monitor compliance and allows Anatel to act in case of violations.

SNOA and ESOA: the systems that enable access

The PGMC created two operational mechanisms that transformed infrastructure access for smaller providers.

The SNOA (Wholesale Offer Negotiation System) is the platform through which you request and negotiate access to wholesale products from PMS operators. In practice, the SNOA is how regional providers request link activation, duct access, and other network inputs. The system formalizes the process and creates an auditable record of each request, making it harder for PMS operators to delay or deny requests without justification.

The ESOA (Wholesale Offer Supervisory Entity) is the body responsible for supervising PMS operators' compliance with their obligations. The ESOA monitors quality indicators, service timelines, and commercial conditions. If you face difficulties contracting a wholesale product, such as excessive installation delays or conditions different from those published, the ESOA is the channel to formalize your complaint.

How to access wholesale products in practice

The process for accessing wholesale products from a PMS operator follows defined steps you should be aware of.

First, consult the reference offers published by the PMS operator on the SNOA. Identify the product that meets your need, whether it is a transport link, last-mile access, or passive infrastructure sharing.

Next, submit a formal request through the SNOA, detailing technical specifications, delivery points, and required volume. The PMS operator has regulated timelines to respond to your request, and failure to meet those timelines can be reported to the ESOA.

Track the progress of your request through the system. Maintain records of all interactions, dates, and offered conditions. These records are essential should you need to escalate to the ESOA or Anatel itself in case of non-compliance.

If the PMS operator offers conditions different from those published in the reference offer, or if service timelines are systematically missed, file a formal complaint with the ESOA. Active supervision is what ensures PGMC obligations are effectively met.

Relevant markets: where the PGMC applies

The PGMC defines specific relevant markets where competition obligations apply. For your operation, the most important ones are as follows.

The fixed network infrastructure market, which includes last-mile access, ducts, poles, and dark fiber. If you are expanding your fiber optic network, this is the market that guarantees access to the passive infrastructure of major operators.

The high-capacity data transport market, which comprises dedicated links and transmission capacity between network points. If you need backhaul or backbone in regions where you do not have your own infrastructure, this is the relevant market.

The interconnection market, which defines the conditions for voice traffic exchange between operators. If you operate STFC, the interconnection conditions with major operators are partly defined by the PGMC.

The concrete impact for regional providers

The PGMC was the instrument that enabled the explosion in the number of broadband providers in Brazil, which today exceeds 20,000 companies. Before the PGMC, regional providers faced abusive prices, unfavorable contracts, and unacceptable timelines to access major operators' infrastructure. The PGMC changed this landscape by creating clear obligations and enforcement mechanisms.

If you operate in interior municipalities or in regions where major operators historically did not invest, the PGMC is what makes your operation viable. Regulated access to backhaul and backbone allows you to offer competitive broadband without building the entire transport infrastructure from scratch.

Periodic reviews: stay informed

The PGMC undergoes periodic reviews, in which Anatel reassesses relevant markets, updates the list of PMS operators, and adjusts obligations. In each review, new markets may be included, and markets where competition has sufficiently developed may see obligations reduced.

For your operation, following these reviews matters. Changes in relevant markets or obligations can directly affect the infrastructure access conditions that sustain your business. Participating in public consultations is a way to influence regulatory decisions.

References

• Resolution 600/2012 - General Plan for Competition Goals (PGMC)
• Resolution 694/2018 - PGMC Update