Anatel Sets Regulatory Agenda for 2025: Network Fees Among Key Priorities
The National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) has unveiled its regulatory agenda for 2025, outlining key priorities for the coming months. Among the standout items is Item 9, which focuses on “user obligations.” According to the agenda, this involves an “assessment of the need for regulations on telecommunications service user obligations.” This discussion builds on ongoing deliberations within Anatel in recent years and includes the proposal to implement a network fee, or “Fair Share” policy, in Brazil.
Significantly, Anatel has designated this issue as a priority, scheduling a public consultation and a regulatory impact analysis report for the first half of the year, with a final decision expected in the second half of 2025. The global conversation on this topic continues to evolve, as evidenced by the recent report from the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), which highlighted declining data transit costs and stable network traffic in Europe. Additionally, the recent U.S. court ruling that overturned the FCC’s net neutrality regulations has further fueled international debate.
Anatel’s move to reassess user obligations marks a significant step in shaping telecommunications governance in Brazil, fostering a more informed and balanced debate on how to develop digital infrastructure that benefits all Brazilians. However, these discussions also raise concerns about the risk of policies that could favor corporate interests over fair and open Internet access, underscoring the need for evidence-based regulation rather than assumptions that have been debunked by global studies.
For instance, Brazil’s Ministry of Finance has expressed skepticism about the necessity of network fees, citing the lack of concrete evidence to justify such a major regulatory shift. In practice, the Fair Share model tends to create artificial cross-subsidies, addressing an unproven problem while increasing transaction costs for multiple economic players without delivering clear systemic benefits.
Ultimately, Anatel’s decision to prioritize user obligations in its 2025 regulatory agenda is more than an administrative update—it is a critical policy choice that could shape the future of Internet governance in Brazil. To ensure that upcoming regulations foster an open, accessible, and equitable Internet, it is vital for stakeholders to engage actively in this process.