The Project of Law 3.220/2019, widely recognized as the Poles Bill, is poised to significantly lower expenses for telecommunications companies regarding the use of power distribution infrastructure. According to an analysis by the Brazilian Institute of Telecommunications and Digital Solutions (IBTD) on the substitute bill presented by rapporteur Juscelino Filho (PSDB-MA), the legislation could generate annual savings of around R$ 800 million for operators.
The IBTD's technical note indicates that the sector currently spends at least R$ 2.6 billion annually on pole sharing, a figure based on an analysis covering 70.2% of the market. While service providers declare an average price of R$ 8.40 per fixation point, the updated reference value used in the survey stands at approximately R$ 5.84. The proposed legislation establishes a maximum limit for these charges to address this discrepancy.
A critical component of the proposal is the requirement that contracts exceeding the new ceiling be adjusted within 18 months, regardless of their original terms. This provision ensures that operators do not have to wait for long-term contracts to expire before renegotiating rates. Additionally, the substitute bill sets a transitional maximum price for sharing agreements signed, extended, or renewed after the law takes effect, calculated based on current reference prices corrected by the IPCA until December 31, 2025.
To encourage infrastructure expansion in areas with lower coverage, the bill stipulates that the limit per fixation point in rural areas will be half of the value applied in urban regions during the transition period. The text also mandates that the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) and the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) jointly define a definitive structural maximum value within 30 months of the law's publication. If this deadline is missed, the executive branch will have an additional six months to establish the value after consulting both agencies.
The Poles Bill has already been approved by the Senate and is currently moving through the Chamber of Deputies under urgent procedures. The substitute bill presented by Juscelino Filho is ready for a plenary vote; however, if deputies approve the text with amendments, it must return to the Senate for further analysis. Following congressional proceedings, the project will proceed to presidential sanction or veto, with the law entering into force 180 days after its publication.
Beyond cost reduction, the proposal aims to establish rules for regularizing irregularly installed networks and define responsibilities for managing shared poles between energy distributors and telecommunications companies.
Sources: Canaltech.