Discovering Brazil

Page 20

Discovering Brazil

Communication and Media

Telephones

Land lines can easily be requested in your new home. If you choose to use your current

phone, the jack and electrical current (for cordless) will probably be different, but adapters

can be found easily. The international telephone

country code for Brazil is +55.

Public telephones are found regularly in major

cities. They work with phone cards only, which

can be bought at any newspaper stand. Regular

phone cards allow you to make local and national

calls, but the credits are used at an incredible

rate if the call is directed to another city or to

mobile phones. There is a special phone card for

international calls, so make sure to ask the clerk

for the correct one.

Mobile phones are universal and major international brands of cellular phones can be bought

in almost any city in Brazil. Your current cellular phone might not be compatible in Brazil, so

be sure to consider your options if you must purchase a new cellular phone. Packages of

services including the phone itself are normally a good option.

Television

Television first arrived in Brazil in the 1950s and was available only in black and white for

many years. Cable TV has only been available in Brazil since 1995 and Digital TV became

available in 2007 in just a few cities. The open channel system in Brazil is PAL-M.

Televisions on other systems may only play in black and white or not at all. The major free

networks are

Band

Rede TV

Globo

Rede Record

, and

SBT

Other free networks are:

Brazil TV

, a national channel run by each state

TV Cultura

, a São Paulo state-run channel

TV Camera

and

Senado

, which report on the Chamber of the Republic and Federal

Senate respectively

Satellite television can be used in Brazil, but in all major cities cable is the preferred choice.

Cable and satellite TV are available by subscription. Your Dwellworks Consultant will advise

you on what is available in your area. If you sign up for cable, their system will most likely

have built-in NTSC capability. It is advisable to check it with the cable provider before

shipping a personally owned TV, or purchasing a new one to make sure everything is

compatible.

Brazilian programs are in Portuguese and foreign programs can either be dubbed or have

subtitles. Many imported programs on cable offer a choice of viewing languages.