Brazil's decision on PCS in 15 days.
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Story Filed: Wednesday, March 29, 2000 11:12 AM EST
SAO PAULO, Mar 28, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Today's opening of the Tenth Annual TELEXPO event in Sao Paulo was marked by a true war between the American and the European companies, disputing over the frequency to be adopted for the C Band Cellular Telephony. The new PCS (Personal Communication System) service offers the largest range of services to users today. It will be functional in the second half of next year. The European companies want the 1.8 MHz GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) frequency and the American companies are fighting for the 1.9MHz, TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) frequencies.
(Photo: newscom.com
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In 15 days, Anatel (Brazil's National Telecommunications Agency) will announce which band Brazil will use. The decision will decide who will be able to explore the market, worth an estimated US$10 billion. Anatel's president, Renato Guerreiro, has affirmed that the decision will be made based on the needs of Brazilians. 'We will take into consideration the quality of service, the number of jobs that will be generated and society's needs," he said. Guerreiro participated at the event's official opening ceremony at the Expo Center Norte Exhibition Center, together with the Sao Paulo state Secretary of Science, Technology and Development, Rep. Jose Anibal, and several authorities and business owners.
The dispute over the C Band should heat up even more in the coming days. Companies have formed groups to demonstrate the advantages of their respective systems. The American group of Motorola, Qualcomm, Ericsson, Lucent, Nortel and Nec held a meeting to present its main arguments in implementing the 1.9 MHz band. "The adoption of this band would mean an integration of Brazil with the remainder of the Americas", said Gerhard Weise, Ericsson do Brasil's president.
Adopting the American system represents a natural evolution for the national (Brazilian) mobile telephony market for Motorola president Dante Iacovone. "The Brazilian market will be isolated from its main partners if it decides to adopt the frequency used in Europe," said Iacovone.
GSM system originated in Europe and is being expanded to various countries, including China and Australia. It has more than 260 million users worldwide. TDMA and CDMA systems were adopted only in the United States and other countries in the Americas.
European companies such as Siemens, Nokia, Inepar and Intelig are trying get their foot in the door in the Brazilian mobile telephony market, which is worth billions. They have created the GSM Group to counterattack the American companies. 'Adopting the GSM system allows new companies to enter the sector and increase the competition, resulting in lower costs for the consumer", said Verner Dittmer, president of Siemens do Brasil.
For Fernando Terni, Intelig's president, thinking from the consumer's point of view is most important factor now. 'The most important aspect is not to discuss a frequency band, but rather which types of services that these two systems will be able to offer for the final consumer," he concluded.
SOURCE Advanstar Latin America |
