The auction of PCS leftovers in bands D and E will have only indirect effects on the telephony market for the time being, according to industry experts consulted by TELETIME News. The most obvious indirect effect relates to the acquisition of Lot 1 (metropolitan São Paulo) by Telecom Americas. No one believes the consortium wants anything other than to force BCP to sell at a convenient price. This is a gamble, reckon the punters: if it pays off, Telecom Americas will return the license and pay the 10% penalty for withdrawal (31 million Brazilian Reals); if not, it will gradually invest in niche markets and wait for BCP to deteriorate further while investing faster in other areas ? Paraná and Santa Catarina in the South, Bahia and Sergipe in the Northeast ? because this is part of the consortium?s overall strategy. The least expected indirect effect relates to Tele Celular Sul (TIM Sul), which could lose market value. Hitherto everyone assumed TIM Sul would continue facing competition only from Global Telecom, part of the Portugal Telecom/Telefonica joint venture. Now, however, it will have to face Telecom Americas as well, and possibly also Brasil Telecom. Investors seem not to have noticed this yet. TIM Sul (TCLS4) gained 1.87% on Wednesday, November 20, closing on 2.72 BRL. Telemig Celular and Tele Centro Oeste Celular (TCO) are seen as riper than ever for acquisition, as widely predicted, so their stock too has done well. In Telemig?s case, the leftover license in its area was acquired by Vésper, which is considered fragile. In that of TCO, the new licensee is Brasil Telecom, which probably won?t enter the wireless market for another 18 months and even so only to complement fixed-line corporate services.
Mobile market
