Currency depreciation, economic uncertainty and the slower rate of market growth in recent months aren?t enough to prevent São Paulo?s wireless players from expecting an even better holiday season than in 2001. Telesp Celular (São Paulo State) and BCP (metropolitan area) are betting that consumers are relieved to find the election outcome isn?t as ugly as many feared during the campaign and will give themselves a treat by shopping hard for Christmas. Both promise aggressive marketing, including discounts and other promotional attractions to face competition from new entrant TIM, which covers the entire country. Marketing VP Silvia Regina Cezar expects BCP to add 10% more new subscribers year over year. At the end of 2001, it signed up 45,000 customers in São Paulo. In the Northeast, where it also operates B band, it added 38,000 subscribers. She won?t detail the promotions to be offered but says there will be several discounted plans and packages. Luís Avelar, Telesp Celular?s VP of marketing and data services, won?t disclose numbers but also expects sales to grow year over year this Christmas. The focus will be on value-added products and services such as a recently launched CDMA handset with color display, and on signing up teenage children or relatives of existing subscribers, using A Coisa, Telesp?s SMS offering, as a magnet.
Mobile services
