The announcement of the start of negotiations for a partnership between the government of Jair Bolsonaro and billionaire Elon Musk was seen by public and private agents in the telecommunications sector as a potential favor to the foreign billionaire.

Without any bid forecast, the agreement in formulation provides for the provision of the amazon monitoring service and the internet supply in public schools located in remote regions.

All this through Starlink, Musk's satellite internet company. Starlink received authorization from the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) in January to operate 4,400 low-orbit satellites over Brazil.

The point is that there are other operators that provide the same type of service, such as Viasat, Hughes, Embratel, among others. The criticism of the sector is that all should be treated with isonomy.

The billionaire, however, was invited by the minister himself to visit the country. In an interview, Bolsonaro said that there is "total interest" of the Brazilian government in establishing a partnership. "It's the beginning of a courtship that will end in marriage," the president said. Bolsonaro, Musk and The Minister of Communications, Fábio Faria, were in a high luxury hotel in the interior of São Paulo.

The nuptials, however, should not be sealed anytime soon. The pact will have to go through bidding, but this is not allowed by the Fiscal Responsibility Act so close to the elections. Therefore, Bolsonaro would need to be re-elected to move the negotiations, something for 2023 onwards.

Another criticism of the industry is that there was a trampling on Anatel's competencies when choosing Musk to provide internet to public schools. It is worth remembering that the regulatory agency has created a specific group to address the connectivity of schools. This program has resources paid, in the form of counterparts, by the teles that won the 5G auction held in November.

Asked by the report if there was favoritism, no bidding and trampling of the functions of Anatel, the Ministry of Communications said only that "there was no formalization of contract in the visit of businessman Elon Musk to Brazil".

Source: Canal Rural