Embratel is a major

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian telecommunications company headquartered in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. The company was the long distance arm of Telebras until it was bought by the U.S. company

MCI Communications MCI Communications Corp. (originally Microwave Communications, Inc.) was a telecommunications company headquartered in Washington, D.C. that was at one point the second-largest long-distance provider in the United States. MCI was instrument ...

for 2.65 billion

reais The Brazilian real ( pl. '; sign: R$; code: BRL) is the official currency of Brazil. It is subdivided into 100 centavos. The Central Bank of Brazil is the central bank and the issuing authority. The real replaced the cruzeiro real in 1994. ...

during the 1998 break-up of Telebras. However,

went bankrupt in 2003. Since 2003, it is owned by

América Móvil América Móvil is a Mexican telecommunications corporation headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico. It is the 7th largest mobile network operator in terms of equity subscribers and one of the largest corporations in the world. América Móvil is a ...

, the Mexican telecommunications giant. Embratel is a major player in both voice and data communication in Brazil. The company owns a fully digitized microwave communications and

fiber optic An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means to ...

networks as well as eight domestic communication satellites. The company is a member of the

Intelsat Intelsat S.A. (formerly INTEL-SAT, INTELSAT, Intelsat) is a multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States. Originally formed as In ...

and Inmarsat organizations and it owns four fiber optics submarine cable systems -

UNISUR UNISUR is an optical submarine telecommunications cable system in the South Atlantic Ocean linking Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. It has landing points in: # Florianópolis, Santa Catarina State, Brazil # Maldonado, Maldonado Department, Urugua ...

Americas II AMERICAS-II is a fiber optic submarine communications cable that carries telecommunications between Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Martinique, Curaçao, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, French Guiana, Suriname and Guyana (both th ...

, Atlantis-2 and

Columbus III Columbus-III was a transatlantic telecommunications cable connecting Europe to North America. History and details ''Columbus-III'' entered service since December 1999 and it's owned by over 30 carriers. Supported by 90 repeaters, it's 9833 ...

. Embratel's stock was traded on

BM&F Bovespa B3 S.A. - Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão (in English, ''B3 - Brazil Stock Exchange and Over-the-Counter Market''), formerly BM&FBOVESPA, is a stock exchange located in São Paulo, Brazil, and the second oldest of the country. Its current form can be tra ...

In Heraldry

Some of the company's equipment is represented on the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

Tanguá Tanguá () is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the s ...

, Brazi

''Via Embratel'' subscription TV service

In 2008, Embratel launched its Pay television, pay TV service. It was named Via Embratel and operates in

Ku Band The Ku band () is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies from 12 to 18 gigahertz (GHz). The symbol is short for "K-under" (originally german: Kurz-unten), because it is the lower part of the ori ...

on satellite

Star One C2 Star One C2 is a Brazilian communications satellite. It was launched on 18 April 2008 22:17 UTC by an Ariane 5, Ariane 5ECA carrier rocket, as part of a dual-payload launch with Vinasat-1. It was built by Thales Alenia Space, based on the Spacebus, ...

. The service is currently branded Claro hdtv.

External links

The company's home page in English

Telecommunications companies of Brazil Internet service providers of Brazil Companies based in Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian brands América Móvil Privatized companies of Brazil {{telecomm-stub

In Heraldry

''Via Embratel'' subscription TV service

See also

External links