Companhia Telefônica Brasileira (CTB) was a Brazilian fixed-line telephone company that provided services to the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, as well as Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo through its subsidiaries CTMG and CTES. Between 1972 and 1976, CTB belonged to the Telebras system.[1][2]
Origin
Predecessors
Rio de Janeiro
On November 15, 1879, Pedro II granted Charles Paul Mackie, Bell Labs' representative in Rio de Janeiro, the first authorization in Brazil to operate telephone services through Decree No. 7,539. On April 17, 1881, the Telephone Company of Brazil was licensed to operate. By 1883, five stations with 1,000 subscribers each had been installed in Rio de Janeiro.[3][4][5][6]
In the 1880s, several companies became involved in providing telephone services in Rio de Janeiro: Companhia União Telefônica do Brasil (1885), Empresa Obras Públicas do Brasil (1889), Companhia Telefônica Industrial (1890), Siemens & Halsk (1897) and Brasilianische Elektrizitäts Gesellschaft (1899); the latter was acquired in 1905 by the Canadian-owned Rio de Janeiro Tramway, Light and Power Company and was renamed Rio de Janeiro Telephone Company in 1907.[7][8][9]
In 1897, the Central, Largo do Machado, São Clemente, Estácio de Sá, São Cristóvão, Engenho Novo, Andaraí and Santa Teresa stations, located in Rio de Janeiro, were closed after the cancellation of the contract with Companhia Telefônica Industrial, the firm responsible for operating the service. In February, a deal was signed with a German company, which provisionally installed a telephone exchange in the city until the Central Station was inaugurated on November 3, 1899, in a building on Tiradentes Square. On March 9, 1906, a fire destroyed the exchange's facilities, which reopened in September 1906. In 1910, the Interurban Telephone Company was created and began operating in Niterói and Petrópolis.[10][11][12][13][14]
São Paulo
In 1883 the first telephone station was installed in Santos and had 75 subscribers. On January 5, 1884, the Empresa Telefônica Campineira, the first company in the state of São Paulo, was created in Campinas. On January 7, 1884, the Companhia Telégrafos Urbanos installed the first 22 telephones in the city of São Paulo. However, the firms did not possess exclusive rights to the services.[15][16][17]
In 1891, the São Paulo and Santos lines, which belonged to the Companhia União Telefônica do Brasil, were transferred to the Companhia Telefônica do Estado de São Paulo, a firm that also acquired the Campinas lines in 1911. In 1896, the Rede Telefônica Bragantina, which lasted 15 years and served 98 cities in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, was created in Bragança Paulista. By the end of 1916, the Companhia Telefônica do Estado de São Paulo had established six telephone stations in the city of São Paulo (Central, Brás, Bom Retiro, Cambuci, Água Branca and Cidade), one in Campinas and one in Santos.[18][19]
Company unification
In 1912, the Canadian holding company Brazilian Traction Light and Power Company Ltd. was created. It controlled the São Paulo Tramway, Light and Power Company and the Rio de Janeiro Tramway, Light and Power Company in the energy sector, as well as the Rio de Janeiro Telephone Company in the telecommunications sector.[23]
In 1914, the firm acquired the Interurban Telephone Company and, in 1916, became the manager of the Companhia Telefônica do Estado de São Paulo and the Rede Telefônica Bragantina through the Rio de Janeiro & São Paulo Telephone Company, authorized to operate by Decree No. 11,500 of February 23, 1915. It also merged the Companhia de Telefones Interestaduais, a telephone operator that worked in several cities in the states of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. In 1919, Companhia Telefônica do Estado de São Paulo and Rede Telefônica Bragantina were definitively incorporated.[24][25][26]
Rio de Janeiro
On November 15, 1879, Pedro II granted Charles Paul Mackie, Bell Labs' representative in Rio de Janeiro, the first authorization in Brazil to operate telephone services through Decree No. 7,539. On April 17, 1881, the Telephone Company of Brazil was licensed to operate. By 1883, five stations with 1,000 subscribers each had been installed in Rio de Janeiro.[3][4][5][6]
In the 1880s, several companies became involved in providing telephone services in Rio de Janeiro: Companhia União Telefônica do Brasil (1885), Empresa Obras Públicas do Brasil (1889), Companhia Telefônica Industrial (1890), Siemens & Halsk (1897) and Brasilianische Elektrizitäts Gesellschaft (1899); the latter was acquired in 1905 by the Canadian-owned Rio de Janeiro Tramway, Light and Power Company and was renamed Rio de Janeiro Telephone Company in 1907.[7]
São Paulo
In 1883 the first telephone station was installed in Santos and had 75 subscribers. On January 5, 1884, the Empresa Telefônica Campineira, the first company in the state of São Paulo, was created in Campinas. On January 7, 1884, the Companhia Telégrafos Urbanos installed the first 22 telephones in the city of São Paulo. However, the firms did not possess exclusive rights to the services.[15][16][17]
In 1891, the São Paulo and Santos lines, which belonged to the Companhia União Telefônica do Brasil, were transferred to the Companhia Telefônica do Estado de São Paulo, a firm that also acquired the Campinas lines in 1911. In 1896, the Rede Telefônica Bragantina, which lasted 15 years and served 98 cities in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, was created in Bragança Paulista. By the end of 1916, the Companhia Telefônica do Estado de São Paulo had established six telephone stations in the city of São Paulo (Central, Brás, Bom Retiro, Cambuci, Água Branca and Cidade), one in Campinas and one in Santos.[18][19]
Company unification
In 1912, the Canadian holding company Brazilian Traction Light and Power Company Ltd. was created. It controlled the São Paulo Tramway, Light and Power Company and the Rio de Janeiro Tramway, Light and Power Company in the energy sector, as well as the Rio de Janeiro Telephone Company in the telecommunications sector.[23]
In 1914, the firm acquired the Interurban Telephone Company and, in 1916, became the manager of the Companhia Telefônica do Estado de São Paulo and the Rede Telefônica Bragantina through the Rio de Janeiro & São Paulo Telephone Company, authorized to operate by Decree No. 11,500 of February 23, 1915. It also merged the Companhia de Telefones Interestaduais, a telephone operator that worked in several cities in the states of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. In 1919, Companhia Telefônica do Estado de São Paulo and Rede Telefônica Bragantina were definitively incorporated.[24][25][26]
Creation of CTB
On January 15, 1923, at a meeting held by the board of directors of the Brazilian Traction Light and Power Co. Ltd. in Toronto, managers decided that the Rio de Janeiro & São Paulo Telephone Company would change its name to the Brazilian Telephone Company. Decree No. 16.222 of November 28, 1923 authorized the company to continue operating in Brazil and allowed the translation of the name into Portuguese as Companhia Telefônica Brasileira (CTB).[27][28]
First period (1923-1966)
In 1923 Brazil had 100,000 telephones; 75% of which were controlled by CTB. On March 25, 1929, the company registered 100,000 installed telephones. In December 1936, it operated 166,000 telephones, including 99,000 automatics, 63,000 in Rio de Janeiro (with 16,000 manuals remaining) and 22,000 in São Paulo (with 19,000 manuals remaining). In February 1937, CTB reached 100,000 automatic telephones installed. On July 25, 1939, it reached 200,000 telephones installed by CTB. At the firm's request, the inauguration ceremony was held at the Catete Palace and attended by President Getúlio Vargas and Minister of Foreign Affairs Oswaldo Aranha, who called Carlos Martins, the Brazilian ambassador in Washington.[29][30][31]
Operational structure
Administrative headquarters
Crisis and nationalization
Due to the global economic crisis and World War II, telephone equipment stopped arriving in Brazil. From 1940 onwards, the queues for lines increased; in 1945, the queue in Rio de Janeiro amounted to 29,000 people and in São Paulo to 21,000 people. The crisis worsened due to the high import tariffs on equipment. The authority to set prices remained divided between the three branches of government and prevented the uniform establishment of technical and economic criteria. By 1956 the waiting list had reached 139,000 people in Rio de Janeiro and 151,000 in São Paulo. The high demand for telephone lines represented a serious problem in the main urban centers.[128][129]
Long-distance calls required hours of waiting. Telephone communications with the rest of the world also failed to meet the international needs of Brazil's expanding economy. The cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Brasília were interconnected via microwave links. Communication to most of the states was via radiotelegraph and radiotelephone services, mostly run by foreign concessionaires (Telégrafo Nacional, Radiobrás, Radional, Western, All América and Italcable).[130]
New CTB (1966-1976)
In 1966, CTB had 584,000 installed telephone terminals in its coverage area, excluding subsidiaries, including 245,000 in Guanabara, 183,000 in São Paulo, 77,000 in the interior of São Paulo and 34,000 in the state of Rio de Janeiro. 529,000 terminals were in service and 817,000 telephones had been installed. The Brazilian Constitution of 1967 created the Ministry of Communications, which surveyed the telephony situation in Brazil, launched a plan for emergency and long-term solutions and divided CTB's area of operation, assigning it the responsibility of serving the states of Guanabara and Rio de Janeiro.[148][149][150]
CTB presidents during this period:
- 1966-1969: Landry Sales Gonçalves;[151]
Coverage area: Rio de Janeiro
Locations served by CTB in the state of Rio de Janeiro transferred to Telerj in 1976:
Coverage area: São Paulo
Locations served by CTB in the state of São Paulo transferred to Telesp in 1973:
City of São Paulo
Interior of São Paulo
End of business
In April 1973, Telecomunicações de São Paulo (Telesp) was created. The following month, CTB transferred all its assets in the state to the new company, as had already been determined years earlier by the Ministry of Communications. CTB began to concentrate on expanding and modernizing services in the area formed by the states of Guanabara and Rio de Janeiro. After the merger of the two states in 1975, CTB was abolished and incorporated by Telecomunicações do Rio de Janeiro (Telerj) in February 1976. At the time, CTB operated 649,400 telephone terminals in the city of Rio de Janeiro, distributed over 57 exchanges installed in 14 telephone centers.[190][268][262][269]
The telephone exchange buildings built by CTB, including the oldest ones that were not demolished, are still used today by Vivo in the state of São Paulo and Oi
See also
References
- LEI Nº 5.792, DE 11 DE JULHO DE 1972 Federal Government of Brazil, retrieved 2024-01-25^
- A fundação da empresa Telebrás de 1972 2022-11-09, retrieved 2024-01-26^
- DECRETO Nº 7.539, DE 15 DE NOVEMBRO DE 1879 Federal Government of Brazil, retrieved 2024-01-29