DAILY LIFE: Buying Books

Tags

books, Brazil, buying, cost, how much, IMPORTING:

Buying imported books at bookstores here are expensive.Buying online abroad and having them shipped by snail mail is also expensive. Now, we can buy via downloads off the Internet.  For me, the only way to go. I used to buy books on Amazon.com.   The books always arrived (took two months) and free of import tax.  However, the shipping cost of around US$25 for four to seven books was too expensive.  I stopped buying books from Amazon.com. Today, I installed “Kindle on my PC” from Amazon.com; I assume it is the same software used on their Kindle Tablet.  I went to Amazon.com, bought a Kindle ebook, paid with my BR credit card and downloaded (super fast!!) to my computer:  easy, efficient, super fast and less expensive! I don’t have a Kindle, IPad, Galaxy or other tablet, but to be able to buy, download on the spot and read any of the thousands of ebooks available via online stores is magic. 46 years ago in Brazil, I couldn’t even make a phone call to the next town and the nearest bookstore with English reading material was so far away that it it wasn’t part of our life.   (Peace Corps Brazil gave us a book locker. It had maybe 200 paperbacks.  Those books plus the BBC kept us connected to the outside world.)

INTERNET & PHONES SERVICE: Transferring

Tags

Brasil Telecom, Brazil, GVT, internet service, Oi, phone service, transferring

	I changed from this company.
	to this one.

I am still shocked at how easy and stress-free this was.

My phone and internet service was via Oi, which recently bought out Brasil Telecom. I had heard good reports about GVT. I checked their site and then called to discuss the best package.  The lady was helpful. She understood the options and explained them well.  I told her I would ponder and to call me back in two days at 15:00.   She did and at 15:00.  We closed the deal.

The procedure goes like this:

• GVT notifies ANATEL, the BR Gov agency responsible for communications, that the client is changing to their company.
• ANATEL informs Brasil Telecom to transfer the client to GVT.
• The changes takes about four days and you have phone service the entire time.

Brasil Telecom called me twice asking why I was changing. Told them I got more bang for the buck plus, Brazil Telecom had jerked me around for two days and maybe 50 calls when I canceled my Internet service with them a couple years back.  Told them you can’t treat customers that way……..so adios and I will NOT be back. 

DAILY LIFE: The phone system

Tags

Brazil, how to use, phone, system

Very detailed posting over at The Brazil Business site about the Brazilian telephone system. Click here

INTERNET PORTALS: Terra Internet Portal

Tags

Brazil, call centers, internet, services, Terra

Terra.com.br - Internet Portal

I have been using Terra for several years.  I use them because the phone companies offering internet access require me to sign up at one of these Portals – there are three in Brazil, I think.   I pay R$22.61 per month.

Last week they sent me a notice, by post, informing me that my credit card had expired. The notice said to update my credit card information to prevent my account from being discontinued.   I update my info and move on; however, I wonder how in this day and age, teh company doesn’t send out an email alert advising me that my card on file with them is about to expire.   Other companies do this.  Very helpful. Prevents extra hassles for me and them.  But not with Terra.

So, today, Saturday afternoon, Terra calls me informing me that my card has expired and would I give them my card number.  Gave them a big “NO” and informed them (a young woman or an old one with a voice of a young one) that the information was in my account at Terra and to debit the new card.   That is when the woman did a Bill O’Reilly on me.   Started explaining everything again and TELLING me I didn’t understand….blah, blah, blah.   She got rude, I got rude…I’m not into rude on a Saturday afternoon.

Well, now Terra is going to send me a Bulletin Bancário, which will require me to go stand in line at the bank (maybe payable at the ATM…not sure), but regardless – they take my time, to get my money.   All this on a Saturday afternoon…..    This ain’t the way things should work.

So next week begins my “Change The Way I Access The Internet” mission.   It will be a mission.  I have little hope that it will go smoothly; nor quickly.  I expect there will be much ‘rude’.    I’ll be the pissant against “the system”, but….such is life in the modern world.   It is at times like this I wish I were rich …….  :-)

LINKS:

• Bill O’Reilly – American Fox News Fruitcake – King of Rude
• Terra

DAILY LIFE: Phone Support Services (or lack thereof)

Tags

Brazil, broadband, call centers, consumer protection, INTERNET & PHONE SERVICES:, NET, Oi Brasil Telecom, phone, service

Brazil phone and internet company

The major phone company for our area, Brasil Telecom, was bought out by Oí – now known as Oí Brasil Telecom.  Today’s paper had an article about BT/Oí’s totally unacceptable customer service.

Since January Procon (consumer protection agency) has received 7,500 complaints again Oí Brasil Telecom; 20% of all consumer complaints.

Procon sent an official notice to the company instructing them to NOT sell any new phone lines for 10 days and to resolve 50% of the outstanding complaints.  Turns out the company ignored the directive and continued to sell phone services and only resolved 3% of backlogged complaints.

This disrespect of consumers seems to have become a worldwide disease – lowlife capitalism.  Although there are government departments responsible for insuring ones rights against these monolithic companies, they are not very affective as exampled above by the company completely disregarding Procon’s directive.

A couple of years back, Brasil Telecom was my phone and broadband provider.  The local TV cable company launched a new Internet service via cable.  I signed up.   It was better than Brasil Telecom.  When I called Brasil Telecom to disconnect my service it was the beginning of a four day effort sometimes spending over an hour at a time trying to get ‘disconnect’.  They just kept passing on from one call center person to another.   I finally found a number (investor relations, I think) and called them.  They got me disconnected.    The TV cable service (NET) tanked and I had to go back to Brasil Telecom.  The service has been good for over a year now, but I dread the thought of having to call them if I have a broadband problem.

The actual phone or internet service is generally good.  The problem is in the support services.  If you do have a problem; difficult to get it fixed.

If you are moving to Brazil, be prepared for problems with your local phone company.

LINKS:

• Oí Brasil Telecom (p)
• Procon Goiás (p)

COST OF LIVING: Phone and Broadband

Tags

access, Blog, Brazil, broadband, custo brasil, expensive, GVT, INTERNET & PHONE SERVICES:, internet service, phone, post, slow, updated

Broadband in Brazil

UPDATE: 4 Aug 10

This is a translation of an article from FolhaOnline, the Internet version of the newspaper, Folha de São Paulo.

Broadband in Brazil is Expensive and Not Always Fast

GAVROCHE FUKUMA

colaboração para a Folha de S.Paulo

Brazil is among the ten countries with the highest number of broadband users in the world.  In the last quarter of 2008, it placed ninth in the rankings released by Point Topic UK agency. But quantity does not imply quality: a study by the UN (United Nations) placed the Brazil in 77th place among 154 countries in telecommunications development.

One problem is that the broadband service is expensive – as paid by high-megabit per second -compared with other countries.  It weighs heavly on the family budget representing about 10% of the average salary earned in Brazil.  In the U.S. this is only 0.7%.

In absolute numbers, a monthly plan of 1 Mbps in the city of São Paulo costs between R$ 50 and R$ 70, equivalent to about US$ 23 to US$ 32. In the U.S. the same plan costs around US$ 16. In some Asian countries, the price is only around US$ 3.80.

But even worse is that the service leaves much to be desired, according to the President of ABUSAR (Brazilian Association of Broadband Users), Horacio Belfort: “One of the worst things about the internet is that broadband is advertised, for example, 2 Mbps, but providers only deliver 1 Mbps or even less.

Internet providers admit that.  There is a clause in the contract of service, which states they will undertake to deliver at least 10% of the contracted rate.

According Demi Getschko, director-president of the Center for Information and Coordination Point BR, this is not illegal. “The Internet is like a clothesline, if you hang just one shirt, it remains firm, if a lot of people hang their clothes on the line, it is clear that it will sag” compares Getschko.

Belfort also claims that there are Internet service providers that block TCP / IP ports to prevent users access to certain programs. “When you call or take it to the  PROCON (consumer protection agency), it is difficult to prove this abuse,” he says.

• This is an example of what is called “Custo Brasil”.  Custo Brasil is the cost of doing business due to poor infrastructure, government bureaucracy, out-dated labor laws, etc.
• UPDATED: I pay R$ 176 p/mth (2 phones with 1,500 minutes and 10 Mega broadband) unlimited.   US$ 100.00 (176/1.75) The company is GVT. Started the service about 4 mths ago.  So far so good.

ECONOMY: 8 in 10 Brazilians Have a Mobile Phone

Tags

Brazil, cell, economy, mobile, number, phones

Cell Phone Man – Funny Pictures

(Source: Info-Prod Research (Middle East)) April 26, 2009

According to ANBA: With a total of 153.67 million mobile phone subscribers, Brazil currently has eight cellular telephones for each group of ten inhabitants. According to the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), more than 3 million new numbers were added between January and March this year. Last month alone, new subscriptions totalled 1.3 million. Out of all subscribers in the country, 81.61% have prepaid accounts and 18.39% have post-paid ones. The number of active telephones for each 100- inhabitant group, known as teledensity, totalled 80.56, growth of 0.78% over February. The Federal District has the highest mobile phone teledensity in Brazil, with an index of 143.20, meaning that there is 1.43 telephone for each inhabitant. The state of Rio de Janeiro ranks second, with a teledensity of 98.33, and the third is Mato Grosso do Sul, with an index of 96.34. As in the previous balance disclosed by the Anatel, mobile operator Vivo holds the largest market share, answering to 29.7%. Next come operators Claro, with 25.76%; Tim, with 23.5%; and Oi, with 16.8%. The list of companies also includes Brasil Telecom GSM (3.87%), CTBC Celular (0.30%), Ser Comtel (0.06%) and Unicel (0.01%).

Originally published by Info-Prod Strategic Business Information.

(c) 2009 Info-Prod Research (Middle East). Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.

OBS:

There is a law here prohibiting a driver from using a cell phone while driving.