SAO PAULO (Standard&Poor's) Sept. 8, 2011--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'BBB-' senior unsecured debt rating to Brasil Telecom S.A.'s (BRT) planned issuance of five-year R$1 billion real-denominated senior unsecured notes, payable in dollars. The company will use the proceeds to refinance existing debt maturities and other corporate purposes. BRT is the incumbent of region II and an integral part of Telemar group, and therefore the ratings is the same as on the group. Our rating on Telemar reflects its dominant market position in Regions I and II in Brazilian telecom industry, with revenue diversification among wireline, wireless, and broadband; and its resulting strong cash flow generation. The industry, however, suffers from high competition, especially with the
