Vivo has expressed its intention to deactivate its legacy 2G network as quickly as possible, as maintaining this infrastructure in Brazil has become economically unviable. During a press conference to present its financial results this Tuesday (28), CEO Christian Gebara stated that the shutdown of the old network aims to reduce high operational costs and free up frequency spectrum, with the ultimate goal of boosting 4G and 5G services.
Despite the urgency expressed by the board, Vivo has not yet released a definitive schedule for the end of second-generation service, facing several impediments. The biggest challenge lies in the vast number of corporate devices that still rely on the old signal to operate.
Although the 2G signal may be associated with slowness, it remains crucial for the Internet of Things (IoT) segment. May data shows that while 4G holds 64.4% of lines and 5G reaches 23.9%, 2G still represents 6.7% of the business connection market. It is notable that the second-generation network surpasses the participation of 3G, which currently accounts for only 5.1% of the market.
This persistence of 2G is mainly maintained by the corporate sector. As explained by Gebara to the portal Convergência Digital, the need for 2G use by common users is minimal, but devices such as fleet trackers, smart meters from energy concessionaires, and old credit card terminals remain linked to the obsolete network.
In practice, these numerous customers need to physically migrate to more modern technologies before the operator can remove the antennas. To mitigate this problem, the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) intervened, signaling its intention to suspend the approval of mobile phones and devices limited to 2G or 3G. This measure aims to curb the entry of outdated devices into the national market, forcing the industry to adopt more modern standards.
Even with these actions, the market continues to support the old format. Manufacturers continue to release basic and low-cost devices, such as the Nokia 123 Shield phone, which comes from the factory using the GSM standard, indicating that the 2G ecosystem is still active.
While the complete shutdown does not occur, large telecommunications companies have found a financial alternative in infrastructure division. Vivo maintains a joint network usage agreement, called RAN Sharing, with TIM, which allows them to share operational costs.
In the specific context of GSM (2G), this agreement is deeper, involving the decommissioning of one company's legacy network. Instead of each company maintaining its own tower in the same location, generating higher energy consumption and duplicated maintenance, one of their antennas is deactivated. In this way, customers with devices restricted to the GSM signal begin to use the other operator's 2G network entirely, eliminating structural redundancy.
Ultimately, the market strategy of Brazilian operators points toward a gradual shutdown. This allows the frequency bands currently wasted by 2G ghost traffic to be fully released. With these virtual lanes available, modern connections will receive more traffic bands, ensuring greater capacity, stability, and speed to meet the increase in data consumption in the country.
Chinese robotics companies are shifting from simply replacing imported products to fully integrating supply chains. An example of this move is TIANZHIHANG's announcement on July 16th regarding its intention to acquire a controlling stake in MicroPort Orthopedics.
The leader in surgical robots plans to develop its products to integrate the business of manufacturing implants and consumables. The goal is to enter the orthopedic consumables market worth 300 billion yuan, which significantly exceeds the surgical robot hardware market valued at 10 billion yuan. This strategy is similar to how global orthopedic giants use robots as an entry point for surgical intervention, ensuring continuous revenue from implants.
TIANZHIHANG's Tiang robot has performed over 160,000 operations in 200 medical institutions, but the equipment-only model leaves implant revenue to third parties.
MicroPort Orthopedics offers not only a line of implants. For instance, their ADVANCE medial-pivot knee has over 20 years of clinical experience, demonstrating 98.8% survival after 17 years and more than a million implants worldwide. A critical asset is the company's international infrastructure: distribution networks, relationships with surgeons, clinical trust, and experience working with regulatory bodies in the US, Europe, and Japan. For a Chinese medical robotics company preparing for globalization, building such assets from scratch would take years or decades, whereas an acquisition allows this timeline to be shortened to one deal.
This deal highlights that while exporting the manufactured robot is possible, regulatory compliance, surgeon training, collection of clinical data, and insurance reimbursement cannot be achieved solely through product superiority.
The acquisition strategy illustrates a broader trend: Chinese robotics companies have achieved domestic import substitution in manufacturing and medical robotics, but different competencies are required for global expansion. In industrial robotics, Chinese companies hold a significant share of the domestic market but remain secondary players in Western supply chains, where existing robots have decades of experience in integration, programming ecosystems, and service networks.
In medical robotics, the barrier is not the technology itself, but the deep integration of existing systems into hospital workflows, surgeons' curricula, and insurance codes. TIANZHIHANG's approach represents the most ambitious attempt by a Chinese robotics company to acquire, rather than create, a fully commercial system. If successful, it will serve as a model for other Chinese firms aiming to enter regulated global markets where infrastructure and trust are as important as equipment performance.
The main risk lies in integration: maintaining existing relationships with surgeons and distributors while simultaneously aligning the acquired orthopedic business with the robot portfolio. The broader takeaway is that the globalization of Chinese robotics has entered a phase where technological competitiveness is considered a given, and the competitive frontier has shifted towards orchestrating the commercial system across regulatory, clinical, and distribution aspects. The industry is moving from creating good robots to controlling the global surgical workflow in which these robots operate.
The Lebanese businessman, who won a million dollars for the second time in the Dubai Duty Free draw, stated his intention to keep and invest his latest winnings in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after losing the funds from his first jackpot.
Antoine Labaki, a 53-year-old construction business owner from Beirut, is only the twelfth person to win twice in the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire promotion. His ticket number 3360 in the Millennium Millionaire series 551 was selected during a draw held at Dubai International Airport on Wednesday and was purchased by him online on July 17.
Previously, Labaki received a million-dollar prize in August 2018. Additionally, in August 2004, he won a BMW 745Li car as part of the Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise promotion, which made it his third major prize.
Speaking to Khaleej Times from his home in Beirut, Labaki reported that he received the winning notification while having coffee with his sister. He immediately realized he had won because he recognized the person calling him from Dubai Duty Free, noting that it was the same person as last time.
However, Labaki admitted that his first million-dollar win was transferred to Beirut, but he could not use the money as planned and ultimately lost it. This experience changed his approach to managing subsequent winnings.
This time, Labaki intends to keep the money in Dubai, invest it in the city, and possibly use some of the funds to purchase property. He also plans to start a business there, considering Dubai the safest urban environment. Labaki, who runs a construction business in Lebanon, had considered starting a similar venture in the UAE. Moving to Dubai was already in his plans before receiving the latest jackpot, and the new prize has made these plans more realistic for him and his family.
Labaki's connection with Dubai Duty Free spans over two decades. In 2004, he bought a ticket while passing through Dubai International Airport without thinking about the purchase due to haste. The day after arriving in Beirut, he was called and informed of his BMW win. After the launch of the million-dollar promotion, Labaki continued to participate, although he usually buys tickets only two or three times a year, as he trusts Dubai and Dubai Duty Free.
Now, having become a three-time winner, he plans to participate more frequently, possibly buying tickets monthly. Labaki expressed his love for Dubai, calling it the best place in the world and absolutely safe. He plans a trip to the UAE with his family to celebrate the victory and start a new chapter in the country, describing the moment of returning to Dubai after the latest win as the most emotional, stating: 'Dubai Duty Free gave me the world.'
