The Brazilian Air Force is planning to privatize the running of its telecom network used for defense, surveillance and air traffic control, an Air Force spokeswoman said on Tuesday. The planned public-private partnership is aimed at reducing the cost to the Air Force of modernizing the system and would involve about 4.3 billion reais ($1.3 billion) in investment and operating costs. Brazilian newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo reported earlier that 17 companies participated in public hearings on the possible privatization.