Carlos Henrique Moreira, president of Telecom Americas, says he has no plans for acquisition of a wireless license or company in Minas Gerais this year and aims to launch PCS service in São Paulo around the middle of this year. ?I wanted Minas, but I?ll have to leave it for later,? he says, apparently resigned to losing the option to buy a license for the region to Vésper. ?Vésper wanted the license more than us. Our preference is for São Paulo, which is crucial to our strategy of nationwide coverage.? The privatization process produced an unfair situation in his opinion: Telesp Celular, the A-band operator, covers the entire state of São Paulo, while B band was split between two operators that aren?t allowed to join forces: Tess, a member of the Telecom Americas consortium, and BCP, which covers metropolitan São Paulo. Minas Gerais is a tough place to operate, he argues, with many small towns and a heavy investment requirement to be in a position to compete.
The plan is for Telecom Americas to start delivering PCS service in São Paulo between June and August, he says, depending on negotiations for the installation of cellsites. This stage should be completed in about a month?s time. Asked about America Móvil?s interest in acquiring BCP/BSE, Mr Moreira says negotiations are under way directly between the parties. Telecom Americas, a subsidiary of America Móvil, will have to fit into the group strategy if the deal goes through.
PCS
