According to figures released by the Brazilian telecom regulator Anatel, the country's telecoms added 11 million subscribers in the period from January to July 2005 with the total number of subscriptions standing at 76.6 million at the end of July, representing 16.7% growth in comparison with the total number at the start of 2005. With this growth, the mobile phone penetration rate is approaching 50% in Brazil, which has a population of about 184 million people.

 

The CDMA operator Vivo is the main player in the Brazilian mobile phone market with a share of 37.3%, followed by Telecom Italia Mobile with a 22.4% share and Claro with 21.5%.