Luiz Eduardo Falco

Oi: Building a Connected Brazil

In telecommunications, Brazil and Oi share a "largeness" of ideas and actions:

• Brazil is one of the largest markets in the world: the fourth in fixed line with 37 million users, fifth in broadband with 14 million users, and eighth in mobile with 203 million users. In Latin America, Brazil leads in all three markets. It’s big in other ways, too: its population is large and diverse; its geography is huge and varied.
• Oi is a company of superlatives: the only fully integrated "4-play" company in Brazil, the first to converge fixed and mobile operations, the first to build a global system for mobile communications, the first to offer mobile payments, the first to unlock devices, and the first to provide free Internet access to 50 million students in 47,000 schools. Right now, Oi is preparing for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games.

By connecting people everywhere, Oi has secured a leading position in the market with 30 percent of the industry revenue in Brazil. But getting there has not been without challenges:

• Given the size of the country, it has been very difficult to build an infrastructure. Oi tried three times to cross the Amazon, above or below: each time its efforts were beaten back.
• The temperature of OI’s reach ranges from the tropics to the South Pole.
• Inside Brazil are many “countries”: agriculture and industry, rich and poor, developed and emerging.

Telecommunications is essential for Brazil to secure its rapidly rising position in the global economy. For Oi, innovation is the name of the game, and innovation needs a good ecosystem. The company partners with Accenture, as well as with centers for science and technology research, the national industry association, financial institutions and investors. Its strategy for the future focuses on maximizing revenue and profitability of mobile customers, dominating residential markets with converged bundles, and leveraging the infrastructure and its customer base.

As Falco stated, "Convergence is easy to talk about, but difficult to do—just ask your IT guys. Innovation has been part of Oi’s DNA from the beginning, and will continue to play a critical role in driving Oi’s growth."

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Luiz Eduardo Falco President & CEO, Oi Luiz Eduardo Falco is president and chief executive officer of Oi—the leading provider of telecommunication services in Brazil. After the acquisition of Brasil Telecom in early 2009, Oi became the country’s largest telecommunication company in revenues and South America’s largest fixed telephony company in total number of lines in service. Mr. Falco was nominated as alternative member to the Board of Directors on March 1, 2004, and as managing director of TNL on October 2, 2002. He has been the CEO of TNL PCS S.A. (Oi) since October 2001. On April 29, 2005, he was appointed as executive officer of Telemar Norte Leste S.A. He has also worked at TAM, having served as vice president of Sales and Marketing between1992 and 2001, chief technical officer from 1989 to 1992, and production manager between 1986 and 1989. His key roles at TAM were in maintenance, production, production management, pilots (flight groups), reservation (call center), network operations, purchasing, supplies, major contracts (aircraft and services), sales/marketing and strategic planning.