Argentina will adopt calling party pays for cellular as of 1 January. Trunking and paging also are expected to adopt the system in an attempt to develop these markets. The paging sector experienced a significant drop in subscribers as a result of competition with cellular.
Chilean operator Chilesat Telefonia Personal S.A. (Chilesat PCS) has launched commercial PCS service in Chile and will provide nationwide coverage using CDMA technology, announced Leap Wireless International Inc. (the recently spun-off division of Qualcomm Inc.), which owns 50 percent of Chilesat.
Brazilian regulatory agency Anatel plans to award more paging licenses in the near future. Paging operators have protested, fearing overcrowding of the market.
Brazil is studying the establishment of a national cellular database to thwart equipment smuggling. Handsets would be registered by serial number, and the database would be consulted upon activation. The measure also would hinder theft; upon police notification to the database, the handset may not be activated under a new number.
Brazilian B-Band operator Global Telecom opened pre-registration of interested subscribers on 7 October for the states of Paran and Santa Catarina. The company will not charge an activation fee for those who register now. Service is expected on 15 December. The company expects to have 130,000 lines available in January and 500,000 subscribers within two years.
Meanwhile, Tess, the Brazilian B-band operator responsible for the interior of the state of S
