Anatel believes the industry is well on its way to implementing carrier selection for PCS long-distance calls on June 1 as promised, says Jarbas José Valente, head of private services. PCS providers and long-distance carriers have been preparing the introduction of Carrier Selection Codes (CSC) in three working groups with Anatel, he says ? one for technical aspects of interconnection, a second for billing and other commercial issues, and a third for publicizing the changes.
Everything will be ready by the deadline, he stresses. Anatel will launch a media campaign in the second half of May. The new system will coexist with the old one for a four-month period during which calls placed without a CSC will be routed by the usual method. Calls without a CSC will gradually be intercepted and users will be informed of the new system.
Unified bills
Jarbas Valente recalls that there?s no obligation on PCS providers to share billing systems with long-distance carriers and present unified bills to subscribers, but this would undoubtedly make life easier for customers and has been duly specified in the rules and regulations. All that needs to be done is for carriers and providers to establish sharing agreements.
He expects long-distance carriers to launch vigorous promotions in order to capture PCS customers, while the latter will want to do the same to retain their subscribers. Practically the entire wireless segment will come into the new system, he says: the only exceptions will be CTBC Telecom, Telemig Celular and Amazônia Celular, which haven?t migrated to PCS. Even their subscribers will have to select a long-distance carrier when roaming once the four-month coexistence period is over. Conversely, however, PCS subscribers won?t be able to use a CSC when roaming in an area covered by one of the non-PCS providers.
