Q & Brazil>
Qualcomm makes bid in Brazil | Consortium seeks partial
takeover of phone network
The San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego-based Qualcomm has joined a
consortium poised to take over one-third of
Brazil's fixed-line phone network.
Qualcomm, with [ Bell ] Canada and Brazil's Vicunha industrial group, has
been approved to bid for a license to compete with Telenorte Leste
Participacoes SA, Brazil's largest phone company, in Rio de Janeiro and a
large swath of coastal territory.
Bids will be opened Friday. Qualcomm, which twice has been denied
cellular licenses in that country, is almost sure to get the deal this time,
observers say.
"It's not a done deal," said Ricardo Tavares, a San Diego-based research
fellow on Brazilian telecommunications for the Institute of the Americas. "But
they have a 95 percent probability of getting it." Qualcomm's consortium
would be competing against Telerj, an unpopular existing Brazilian carrier,
which enhances Qualcomm's chances.
"There are Web sites saying 'I hate Telerj,' " Tavares said.
The deal is novel for Qualcomm in that the company would be offering basic
phone service through what is called a wireless loop system, Tavares said.
Qualcomm is known for its digital cellular phone service. Qualcomm officials
were not available for comment.
Since 1997, Brazil has moved aggressively to dismantle its former state
phone monopoly, Telebras. The country has been carved into three large
coverage areas, where the government is helping establish duopolies, with
the goal of nurturing unfettered phone competition by 2002. In November,
Qualcomm signed a deal to sell its wireless phones in Brazil's heavily
populated Sao Paulo state. That agreement, with the public utility that is
Brazil's largest telecommunications company, could be worth up to $35
million, the company said.
The wireless phones, which operate using both digital and analog cellular
systems, will be supplied by Qualcomm's Brazilian subsidiary.
(Copyright 1999) |
