SAO PAULO (Dow Jones)-Brazilian telecommunications regulator Anatel has ordered local phone companies to reduce tariffs by 10.78% starting from Feb. 24. The price reduction will affect calls from fixed phones to mobile phones and also calls between mobile phones, Anatel said late Wednesday in a statement. According to the regulator, the reduction will attract more clients for operators and compensate for the reduction in revenue. Customers will pay 0.487 Brazilian reais per minute for phone calls from fixed phone to mobile phone, down from BRL0.546 currently. The regulator has also ordered a similar reduction from the start of 2013 and 2014. Brazil's largest phone operators are Tele Norte Leste Participacoes SA (TNE), or Oi; Telecomunicacoes Brasil SA (VIV), also known as Vivo, which is controlled by Spain's Telefonica SA (TEF); TIM Participacoes SA (TSU), the local unit of Telecom Italia SpA (TIT.MI) and Claro, the local unit of Mexico's America Movil S.A.B. de C.V. (AMX.MX). -By Rogerio Jelmayer, Dow Jones Newswires; 55-11-3544-7071; rogerio.jelmayer@dowjones.com
