Empresa Brasileira de Telecomunicações S.A. - which is Portuguese for "Brazilian Telecommunications Company" - is the second biggest company of its kind in the country and has its headquarters in Rio de Janeiro while Claro has the largest mobile phone network in the Americas, which is part of the Mexican telecom group América Móvil, one of the four largest mobile phone network operators in the world, with more than 200 million customers.

The two companies will be responsonsible infrastructure services and telecommunications at the Games.

The financial details of the deal were not discolosed but the two companies are set to have paid at least more than double the £80 million ($130 million) that BT did to be the Tier One sponsor in the same category for London 2012, especially as Bradesco, Brazil's second largest bank, signed a·$320 million (£205 million) deal to become the first sponsor in December.

Embratel and Claro will now be able to use Rio's Olympic branding, including the new logo launched in December, and will also be an official sponsor of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB).

"We are very happy and honoured for reaching this agreement with the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee," said José Formoso Martínez, Embratel and Via Embratel President.

"It's the summit of a project that began in 2008, with the bid of Rio de Janeiro.

"It's a great satisfaction being able to build up this partnership with the IOC (International Olympic Committee), with the Rio 2016 Organising Committee and with Rio de Janeiro."

The two companies hope to use the sponsorship to showcase their partnership and establish themselves as the clear market leader, including using the Olympics to develop innovative services to offer increasingly sophisticated broadband and mobility.

"The partnership that begins today will be a gold opportunity to show the quality of the Embratel-Claro consortium services," said Martinez.

Carlos Zenteno, the President of Claro, claimed that the agreement "opens new opportunities for Claro to develop creative and innovative capacity to offer ever more sophisticated wide band and mobile services to the Rio 2016 Games".

He added: "The consortium Embratel-Claro presented the best proposal, the most consistent from the technical point of view.

"It comprises projects supporting the Brazilian Olympic sports development and promoting the Rio 2016 Olympic Games throughout Brazil".

Carlos Arthur Nuzman, the President of Rio 2016 and head of the COB, was naturally delighted with the deal.

"We've reached one more historical moment for the Rio 2016 Games," he said.

"Being able to count on a consortium composed of companies of Claro and Embratel caliber is not only an honour but, above all, the confidence that we will face the challenges of Rio 2016 in telecommunications area with more comfort.

"The progress of new technologies and medias will be ever more dynamic along the next years till the Rio 2016 Olympic  Games, which makes essential the partnership with solid companies on the telecommunications area, such as the ones composing the Embratel-Claro consortium."

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