Embratel was founded in 1965 and later became the long-distance subsidiary of Telebr?s, the Brazilian government-owned telephone company. Following the liberalisation of the Brazilian communications market in 1998, Embratel became owned and managed by a consortium led by WorldCom (MCI) of the US; however, in November 2003, WorldCom said that it would sell its stake in the consortium. In June 2004, Anatel, Brazil's telecommunications regulator, approved the US$400 million purchase of Embratel by Tel?fonos de M?xico (Telmex), a deal that would enable the Mexican company to launch its flagship operation in South America. The sale was completed in July 2004.

In August 2004, Telmex registered a tender offer for Embratel Participa??es SA (Embrapar)'s common shares held by the remaining shareholders in the company. The auction took place in December 2004 and Telmex acquired 79.8% of the ordinary shares. Telmex increased its stake to 90.25% of the common shares after this auction. As of October 2005, Telmex owned a total of 97.3% of Embratel's common shares and 45.4% of its preferred shares, representing 72.3% of its total capital.

Embrapar is the holding company of Empresa Brasileira de Telecomunica??es SA (Embratel) and has the following subsidiaries: BrasilCenter, Star One SA, and V?sper Group.

Embratel offers complete telecommunications solutions for the Brazilian market, including local, domestic and international long-distance telephony, data communication, TV and Internet, in addition to servicing all parts of the country through its satellites. Through Star One, Embratel offers satellite transponder capacity and services (data and Internet, voice and digital TV and radio signals) throughout Brazil. V?sper provides local telephony and broadband services in regions I and III of Brazil. Embratel acquired V?sper at the end of 2003.

In October 2005, Embratel's shareholders approved the acquisition of a controlling stake in Telmex do Brasil (TDB), a provider of telecommunications services to corporate customers, and a 37.1% participation in Net Servi??s (NET).