Stay Tuned for Live Updates from the 2011 Anatel Technologies Forum- Live From Brazil!

The topics of discussion will be as follows:

• Evaluation of telecommunication product life cycle
• Announcement from the Superintendent of Radiofrequency and Inspection/Auditing of ANATEL
• Evaluation of EMC conformity for non-telecom electronic equipment
• Presentation about research & development of the industry
• Presentation about certification of antennas used in telecommunications
• Presentation of ANATEL's Auditing Group
• Discussion of topics of interest pertaining to certification
• Presentation of the necessity of updating of the ANATEL requirements for evaluation of Backbone IP

GOOD MORNING!
Welcome to the 16th annual Telecommunications Products Certification Forum, which has now begun in Curtiba, Brazil.  We'll be reporting live from the Forum floor with all the latest updates to the topics above, as they are discussed.

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5:10am - Assembly of the Forum and its members and attendees.  Looking around the room, everyone who's anyone in Brazil telecom is here in attendance!

 5:45am - Pronouncement from the Superintendent of RadioFrequency and Inspection.  A number of new points are being made:
-- Resolution 242, dated in 2000, will be revised and renewed in 2011
-- OCDs will have a minimum standard to be an OCD.  ANATEL will impose a minimum requirement for the OCDs to be in business.  If they don't comply, they will lose their accreditation.
-- The names of 2 new graphic printing businesses will be released as qualified by ANATEL to print the ANATEL labels for cellphone batteries.  Until now, only the "Casa de Moeda" (equivalent to US Mint) was the only entity authorized.
-- ANATEL is stepping up the Inspections and Audit process to check for equipments that are entering the country without proper approval.
    - ANATEL will perform most inspections and audits at the Point of Entry, at Customs, rather than waiting until the products are on the shelves of stores (as they do now), although they will continue to aggressively perform audits/inspections in the field.  ANATEL has committed a force of 500 auditers to travel among Brazil's 26 states, checking certification and telecommunications services in the country.
    - Audit and Inspection will get even tougher on products that didn't get approval
    - There have been many products in the country that were approved and modified throughout the years, and ANATEL's not able to follow equipments that were originally approved.
-- The emphasis is providing quality to the Brazilian market, so a lot of attention will be focused on product safety
    - ANATEL is worried about the World Cup and Olympics, with the invasion of illegal equipments like cellphones, and so they are working to make a better communications between the agency and Customs.

Interesting telecom regulatory facts discussed:
2,700 homologations were processed in 2010
25% of those were domestic products (75% foreign)
Antennas and Restricted Radiation equipment are the hot items (most desired) on the market from foreign manufacturers.
850 kilometers (530 miles) of optical cables already installed underground were ripped out because it hadn't received requlatory approval.

Interesting observations from the Forum floor:
All the ANATEL officials heading up the Forum are sitting at the presentation table with their iPads

 6:45am - Coffee Break!

 8:00am - General discussions with attendees about various ANATEL decisions, etc.  Anatel responds that they will look into these issues outside of the Forum and get back with individual companies at a later date.

9:30am - Lunch break!
We get a little time to mingle with the attendees and with the ANATEL agents.  Different groups are forming for lunchtime discussions.

 Forum will continue after lunch, around 10am PDT

10:30am - Presentation from the Executive Superintendent of ANATEL regarding Research & Development in the industry
Discussions how the telecom industry is progressing, what to expect in the future.

ANATEL feels Brazil doesn't have a good internal policy of benefits for Research & Development that would allow small domestic companies to grow, so Brazil's dependency on telecom products from other countries will continue to grow over the next years.

11:30am -  More ANATEL discussions & presentations regarding Restricted Radiation equipment
Resolution 506 (Restricted Radiation) is under revision to accommodate other frequencies and DECT products that are having problems with interference.

Radars for cars (UWB) are now opened for homologation.

11:50am - Discussion about evaluation of Product Life Cycle for Telecommunications.
ANATEL understands that proper production and cycling of equipment is important for responsible stewardship of the environment.
They are making some future plans (currently integrated into their research and planning) to ask for a Green label in addition to the normal approval.
They will also ask for products to be manufactured from non-toxic plastics, since product disposal is a continuing and growing concern among the Brazilian population and government.

1:30pm - a long lunch was had by everybody, taking time to absorb all the information presented in the morning.

1:45pm - They are now discussing Backbone IP, and how it's a growing technology in the country.
With the increasing use of e-readers, games, streaming movies, Picasa, internet downloads, Facebook, etc, Backbone IP is really becoming a very fast growing service, and they are looking to plan for its expansion.

New resolutions are being formulated which will protect the safety and transit of data across the national network, since there now exist routers capable of 320 Tbps.

Interesting Backbone IP facts discussed:
The traffic bandwidth is capable of sending 4 billion songs in one minute!
The entire USA Public Library information can be downloaded in one second!
A sample transfer of all movies has already been performed, taking just around 4 minutes to complete.

The Backbone is growing at such a lightening-quick pace, and demand is so high that oversight by the agency will absolutely be required. 

2:15pm - Discussions about antennas at this time.
Near the end of the day, slighly rapid discussion about antenna regulations, configurations, future revisions to current existing ANATEL Resolution 372 which will be updated later this year to include additional and changed specifications.

2:30pm - The Forum has officially closed, afer final words from Dr. Maximiliano Martinhao, head of ANATEL.
It was a fantastic meeting, tons of great information, and we'll be processing and refining the info so that we can update you all with the details of the topics covered.

Now, it's time to go schmooze with the ANATEL execs! 

Great Photos from Anatel Telecommunicatiosn Forum, Brazil