Global Village Telecom
(
GVT
) was a Brazilian telecommunications company that offers services on landline telephone, broadband for both consumer and business, Pay TV and voice over IP. GVT has been in the market since the end of 2000. GVT today operates under the
Vivo
brand.
History
[
edit
]
| This article
is missing information
about the end of GVT brand in 2016.
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talk page
.
(
April 2019
)
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Global Village Telecom was founded in April 1998 by a group of Israeli investors led by entrepreneur Joshua Levinberg, who previously founded
Gilat Satellite Networks
. Their idea was to build a satellite-based phone network for remote locations in South America using the
VSAT
technology that was developed by
Gilat Satellite Networks
. The initial investors in the company included: Magnum Technologies Fund, which held 55% of the company, US investment bank
Merrill Lynch
held 20%, Clal Information Technologies 10%,
Discount Investment Corporation
10%, and Gilat Satellite Networks 5%.
[1]
During 1998 and 1999 GVT won tenders to build rural phone networks in
Colombia
,
[2]
Chile
and
Peru
.
[3]
Brazil Fixed-line Telecommunications Licence
[
edit
]
In 1999 GVT was awarded a 20 years license to provide fixed-line telecommunications services in Brazil's south and central regions. As part of Brazil's government plan to introduce competition in three fixed-line regions of the country. When it privatized the state telecommunications company,
Telebras
, in 1998, the government divided Brazil into three regions for fixed-line telephony. Each region was to have one newcomer and an incumbent. In each case, the incumbent was a former unit of Telebras, which was privatized.
The region for which GVT won the license had a population of 38 million people at the time and encompasses nine states, including the country's capital, Brasilia. GVT plan was to invest US$550 million over three years and to build a network with 500,000 lines. GVT was to compete in the region against the former
Telebras
unit Tele Centro Sul, which was owned by a consortium led by
Telecom Italia
.
In 2001, GVT was split between
Gilat Satellite Networks
and the other investors in the company. Gilat took over the
Colombia
and
Peru
operations and GVT remained solely focused on the Brazilian market.
Initial public offering
[
edit
]
In 2007, GVT had an
initial public offering
on the Brazilian Stock Market, achieving a market cap of $1.2 billion and raising $480 million.
[4]
Sale to Vivendi and then to Telefonica
[
edit
]
The French company Vivendi bought a 58% stake of the company by the end of 2009, and raised its participation to 99.17% the following year.
[5]
On August 30, 2014, Vivendi announces the sale of GVT to
Telefonica
for 7.5 billion GBP.
[6]
[7]
Products and services
[
edit
]
| This section needs to be
updated
. The reason given is: All information about GVT below is outdated since the brand is gone since 2016.
Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.
(
April 2019
)
|
GVT is a company that offers high-speed broadband across its area of operation, pay TV with paid high-definition channels, as well as integrated and convergent advanced landline telephony.
The company offers broadband internet connection through ADSL, ADSL2 +, VDSL2 and FTTH technologies. It offers content and Internet services through the online portal POP, besides VoIP services through VONO to residential and micro-enterprise customers in Brazil (also usable outside the country). In 2012, the company also started to offer Pay TV packages.
GVT offers internet speeds of 15 Mbit/s, 25 Mbit/s, 35 Mbit/s, 50 Mbit/s and 150 Mbit/s, to all the 149 cities it serves, except in Erechim e Montenegro (Rio Grande do Sul); Paranagua (Parana); Porto Velho (Rondonia); Palmas, e Rio Branco (Acre), where speeds up to 20 Mbit/s are supported.
Strategically, GVT built a network prepared for the convergence of voice, data and image, enabling it to offer higher than market average speeds since the beginning of its operation in 2000. Currently, circa 70% of annual company investment is dedicated to expansion and improvement of the network.
[8]
The average Internet speed of GVT customer base reached 13.2 Mbit/s in October 2013. The index is greater than the average speed of Brazilian Internet (2.4 Mbit/s) and countries with large technology development as South Korea (13.3 Mbit/s) and USA (8.6 Mbit/s) ? source: Akamai Institute.
[9]
It is considered the best Brazilian broadband for five consecutive years (2009-2013) according to the open survey made with INFO Magazine readers
[10]
and the best telecommunication company by Isto E Magazine in 2013.
[11]
In addition, the company won the EXAME/IBRC Award for best customer service in the fixed telephony category.
[12]
GVT also serves the enterprise segment, providing products and services, offering integrated solutions and
managed services
including fixed-line telephony, unified communication systems, hosted VoIP, Internet services, private-data networks and Data Center services.
Coverage
[
edit
]
Currently, GVT backbone covers 20 states: Acre, Alagoas, Bahia, Ceara, Espirito Santo, Goias, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Paraiba, Parana, Pernambuco, Rondonia, Rio Grande do Norte, Sergipe, Tocantins, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, plus Distrito Federal (Brazil capital).
Sao Paulo
- Sao Paulo, Araraquara, Aruja, Bauru, Campinas, Guarulhos, Indaiatuba, Jundiai, Maua, Mogi das Cruzes, Osasco, Piracicaba, Santo Andre, Santos, Sao Bernardo do Campo, Ribeirao Preto, Sao Vicente, Sorocaba, Suzano, Varzea Paulista and Votorantim.
Minas Gerais
- Belo Horizonte, Betim, Contagem, Governador Valadares, Ipatinga, Coronel Fabriciano and Juiz de Fora.
Espirito Santo
- Vitoria, Cariacica, Colatina, Linhares, Serra and Vila Velha.
Rio de Janeiro
- Rio de Janeiro, Campos dos Goytacazes, Duque de Caxias, Nilopolis, Niteroi, Nova Iguacu and Sao Goncalo.
Mato Grosso
- Cuiaba, Varzea Grande and Rondonopolis.
Goias
- Goiania, Anapolis, Aparecida de Goiania, Cidade Ocidental, Luziania, Rio Verde, Senador Canedo, Trindade and Valparaiso de Goias.
Mato Grosso do Sul
Distrito Federal
- Brasilia, Brazilandia, Cruzeiro, Paranoa, Planaltina, Samambaia, Santa Maria, Sao Sebastiao, Sobradinho and Taguatinga. (Administrative regions of Federal District)
Alagoas
Bahia
- Salvador, Alagoinhas, Camacari, Feira de Santana, Lauro de Freitas and Simoes Filho.
Ceara
- Fortaleza, Caucaia and Maracanau.
Paraiba
- Joao Pessoa, Campina Grande and Santa Rita.
Pernambuco
- Recife, Camaragibe, Caruaru, Gravata, Jaboatao dos Guararapes, Olinda, Paulista and Vitoria de Santo Antao.
Rio Grande do Norte
Sergipe
Acre
Rondonia
Tocantins
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Shaul Shani - GVT - Globes"
.
en.globes.co.il
. December 29, 1999.
- ^
Israel's GVT to Set Up $80 Mln Telephony Network in Colombia
, Efi Landau Globes, 27/09/1999
- ^
GVT of Gilat Group Wins Second Tender in Chile: $2.5 Mln Rural Phone Network
Efi Landau, Globes, 08/07/1998
- ^
"GVT Wows Investors in $1.2 Billion Brazilian Initial Public Offering"
– via Haaretz.
- ^
1. "Credit des Alpes Leads Vivendi acquisition of GVT". L'Agefi (December 3, 2009).
"Archived copy"
. Retrieved
2013-06-11
.
- ^
Williams, Christopher (January 4, 2017).
"Vivendi calls Brazilian internet pioneer to London to bring disparate media empire together"
.
The Telegraph
– via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^
Munoz, Ramon (28 August 2014).
"Telefonica vence a Telecom Italia en la pugna por la brasilena GVT"
.
El Pais
.
- ^
Felitti, Guilherme (2022-08-20).
"A GVT vai manter a fibra?"
.
Epoca Negocios
(in Brazilian Portuguese)
. Retrieved
2023-05-20
.
- ^
"October 16, 2013 - Akamai Releases SecondQuarter 2013 'State of the Internet' Report"
. 2013-10-16. Archived from
the original
on 2013-10-16
. Retrieved
2023-05-20
.
- ^
"Conheca os vencedores do Premio INFO 2013 - Fotonoticia | INFO"
. 2014-05-03. Archived from
the original
on 2014-05-03
. Retrieved
2023-05-20
.
- ^
"As Melhores da Dinheiro: GVT vence na categoria Telecomunicacoes - ISTOE Dinheiro"
. 2013-12-03. Archived from
the original
on 2013-12-03
. Retrieved
2023-05-20
.
- ^
6.”GVT recebe premio IBPC de atendimento ao cliente” (August 16, 2013)”.
"GVT recebe premio IBRC de atendimento ao cliente | geral"
. Archived from
the original
on 2013-12-05
. Retrieved
2013-11-29
.
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