Anatel?s decision to postpone the auction of PCS leftovers for about a month still doesn?t allow enough time for cellular operators to complete business plans and opt between bidding for new frequencies and acquiring other companies, says an executive at one such operator. The main reason they all wanted more time is the transition to the next Federal Government. The new president to be elected on October 27 won?t be sworn in until January. Bid delivery has been rescheduled for November 12 and the auction will be held November 19. The executive says it should be put off until early next year. It won?t be a surprise if Anatel is again bombarded with requests for another postponement. Besides the economic crisis and political uncertainty, cellular companies must factor into their decisions the impact of the new PCS rules recently issued by Anatel, he notes. Among the items to which cellular operators object is freedom of long-distance carrier choice for VC-2 calls in the 67 numbering areas. Depending on how the economic, political and regulatory scenario plays out, key decisions to be taken in the mobile segment in the months ahead include possible acquisition of operators seen as attractive by the big groups that want to create national networks in Brazil, such as Portugal Telecom, Telefonica, and Telecom Americas. Attention focuses on Telemig Celular, TCO and BCP, all located in profitable areas. It won?t be easy to close deals involving these companies. BellSouth and Safra disagree about both the sale of BCP and whether to repay its debts, which far exceed its market value. Opportunity and TIW have been locked in a dispute for some time over control of Telemig Celular. TCO?s controlling shareholders are said to be asking too high a price.
PCS
