A Brazilian telecom operator has disclosed its intentions to launch a 'Smart Cities' platform that will be targeted at both public and private sector. Brazilian company Oi, formerly known as Telemar, is the largest telecommunications company in Brazil and South America and is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro.
It has officially announced details of the collaboration with VM9 Smart City Solutions for the development of a new platform. Last year, the carrier filed for Brazil's biggest ever bankruptcy protection proceedings with US$21bn of debt. The contractual details of the partnership were not disclosed, but in a statement issued to the press, Oi declared that the new product will be launched by the end of the first quarter.
Its B2B director, Luiz Faray, explained that the operator was working on an integrated solution with a modular approach, and that the platform would be open to third-party developers, hosted in cloud and supported by Oi's nationwide network of virtual servers.
Last October, Oi commercially launched Oi Smart, a platform for services automation also based on the concept of internet of things (IoT). Oi Smart is targeted at retail and private customers. In addition to this, Oi has a laboratory in Rio de Janeiro and has entered into a partnership with Nokia Networks for the development of IoT initiatives and solutions.
However, despite insisting and declaring its 'business as usual' on the operational functionality of the business - the telco still faces a number of difficult and complex legal negotiations on its bankruptcy proceedings. In a statement in relation to the on-going legal situation the company revealed that board members debated a series of different scenarios.
"The board authorized Oi's executive officers board to continue with the discussions with the creditors, going deeper into some critical items, including, among others, the possibility of converting part of the debt into equity," said a company statement. According to local media reports, citing sources close to the carrier, during the same meeting an alternative plan presented by Egyptian group Orasscom was rejected.