Brazil's Vivo closes 2004 with a roar.(Brazil)(Brief Article)

Latin America Telecom, January, 2005

The cellular operator of Telefonica Moviles and Portugal Telecom, Vivo, exceeded the 26 million-customer mark at the end of 2004 and ranks in the 10th spot among the largest cellcos worldwide.

According to Vivo's Luiz Avelar, executive vice president of marketing, the company's performance is attributed mostly to the expansion of services the operator offers using 3G applications. Vivo, which has a network reach covering 86 percent of the massive Brazilian territory, increased its customer base by 53 percent over the last 20 months of operations. Together with Mexico's Telcel, it is the largest cellco in Latin America.