Vivo, Brazil: Technology on Board

SUCCESS STORYVIVO, BRAZIL

TECHNOLOGY ON BOARDEricsson and operator Vivo provide 3G technology to hospital riverboat, enabling healthcare services for thousands of people in the Amazon

The partnership between Ericsson and Vivo led to great innovative design and social inclusion in areas still without power.”

Mauricio Santos, Regional Director North, Vivo

Photos: Hans Berggren

CUSTOMER PROFILEVivo is Telefónica Group’s mobile telephony brand in Brazil. Offering services that include fixed line, mobile telecommunications and internet services, Vivo is a leader in Brazilian mobile telecommunications, reaching more than 3400 cities countrywide.

Telefónica launched Vivo in 2003, following the privatization of the state-owned company Telebras in 1998. The Brazilian telecommunications giant was managed by a joint venture of Telefónica Spain and Portugal Telecom, until Telefónica took over the entire business in 2010. In 2012, Telefónica unified all of its fixed and mobile telephone services under the brand Vivo.

Website: www.vivo.com.br

In 2009, Vivo and Ericsson embarked on a project that has changed the lives of thousands of people in the Brazilian Amazon. As part of a large digital inclusion program that aims to provide education and healthcare services to more than 30,000 people in about 175 communities along the Tapajós River, Vivo and Ericsson are working to bring the benefits of the Networked Society to these river-based communities.

In a first step, Vivo and Ericsson partnered to install the first radio base station in the town of Belterra. As planned, the mobile telecommunications antenna with third generation (3G) technology for voice and data transmission

provided 20,000 people with voice and data transmission services, in an area that previously had no mobile connectivity. But something unexpected happened as well.

The nearby Tapajós River was acting as a mirror, enhancing the tower’s signal. Vivo and Ericsson — in a collaborative effort with Brazilian non-governmental agency Saude e Alegria (“Health and Happiness”) — saw the opportunity to extend the digital inclusion project and further improve the lives of the local communities beyond the tower’s project service radius.

Flowing with 3G connectivity The inhabitants of the more than 70 river-based communities along the Tapajós River had limited, if any, access to medical services. They had to travel up to five hours to reach a hospital or medical center in the closest cities, and were forced to spend money to cover their travel, food and lodging expenses during their time away from home. Several attempts had been made in the past to maintain a team of health care professionals in the local communities, but emergency services were inadequate, diagnostic services precarious and second opinions almost impossible to obtain.

To change this situation, Saude e Alegria began to use a large riverboat equipped with medical

equipment and doctors to attend to the local communities, offering a wide range of healthcare services, including emergency medical care and diagnostic services. Vivo enhanced the connectivity in the boat, strengthening the river’s natural magnification of the signal provided by the tower and enabling doctors onboard the Abaré as well as nearby communities where the boat would stop access to 3G mobile broadband.

Healthcare providers onboard can now share diagnoses and knowledge with other medical professionals from around the world, get second opinions when needed, and send x-rays and other images to other doctors to ensure the right diagnoses and proper treatment. In addition, training programs are available on the boat in conjunction with local universities.

The result has been quality medical assistance for thousands of people who live in the Amazon.

“We receive residents and medicalstudents aboard, and with connectivity, it’s possible to develop learning programs with the universities,” explained Dr. Fabio Tozzi, onboard doctor and coordinator, Abaré. “We’re beginning to teach the new students and doctors that it’s possible to provide good medicine in faraway locations.”

OVERVIEWCUSTOMER:Vivo, Brazil

CUSTOMER OBJECTIVE> Enable 3G connectivity for the river-based communities, guaranteeing access to education and health services

SOLUTION> 3G network infrastructure

CUSTOMER BENEFITS> High impact of new telecommunications services> Ability to provide end users with multiple benefits extending beyond telecommunications> Unique ecosystem to try new solutions and measure socio-economic impact

For more information about this article, contact Rogerio Loripe, Key Account Manager: [email protected]

Together with Vivo, we are bringing 3G technology to an area that had no connectivity previously, and with the connection to the hospital boat, changing the lives of thousands for the better.”

Eduardo Ricotta, Vice President,Ericsson Latin America.

And even more to comeThe Abaré hospital boat is part of a larger digital inclusion program Ericsson is spearheading in the Brazilian Amazon. The program aims to provide education and healthcare services to more than 30,000 people in about 175 communities along the Tapajós River.

The success of the Abaré hospital boat has led to the implementation of a river-based family health system, driven by the Brazilian government, to ensure local river communities have access to healthcare services in a timely manner.

A hospital visit on the mainland costs the government the equivalent of approximately USD $7, considerably lower than the USD $34 for the hospital boat, until one considers the social cost for a patient who must travel from a remote area to a city for medical care, forced to pay food, travel and lodging expenses. Taking this into account, the cost of a medical visit soars to USD $74.

Recognizing the important social benefits of the hospital boat to the local communities, the government has initiated a program to launch 100 additional riverboat hospitals, with the funding for 32 of them already approved, ensuring that they will be fully operational in the near future.

Today, with public policy in place to support the Abaré’s work and

another 100 boats scheduled for launch, steps are being taken to complete the riverboat’s transformation into a hospital-boat-school. Connectivity will now play an even larger role in connecting doctors and students from around the world to participate in Amazonian case studies.

“The project showed the power that a mobile phone can make in people's lives,” explained Mauricio Santos, Regional Director North, Vivo. “The partnership between Ericsson and Vivo led to great innovative design and social inclusion in areas still without power. With the antenna on the Abaré hospital boat, we put into operation the first mobile river antenna in the Amazon, helping families in the most remote locations. We were very pleased with the result and with the prospect of even greater changes for the communities.”

“Ericsson is extremely proud to be involved in this project,” said Eduardo Ricotta, Vice President, Ericsson Latin America. “Together with Vivo, we are bringing 3G technology to an area that had no connectivity previously, and with the connection to the hospital boat, changing the lives of thousands for the better.” Abaré, a hospital boat providing m-health services, a connected hospital, and even a connected school, is helping to create the Networked Society in the Amazon.

In October 2012, Brazilian magazine ARede conferred its top annual prize to the Abaré project in recognition of the use of new technologies in benefit of the social inclusion project.

ERC-13:000011 Uen© Ericsson AB 2013

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