Number of cell phones in Brazil crosses 169 million

BRASILIA - The number of cell phones in this nation of more than 192 million people reached 169.8 million last month, the Brazilian National Telecommunications Agency, or Anatel, said.

Some 1.7 million people acquired cell phones in Brazil in November, marking a one percent rise in sales compared to October, Anatel said Thursday.

The biggest subscriber growth - 29.6 percent - was registered by Vivo, a joint venture between Spain’s Telefonica and Portugal Telecom.

Claro, which is controlled by Telmex, ranked second, reporting growth of 25.4 percent, followed by TIM, a unit of Telecom Italia, with 23.8 percent.

–EFE