After talking with several operators from North and South America last week at the CDMA Americas Congress, it seems they have similar to-do lists heading into 2003. As 1x uptake increases, operators are looking to 2003 as the year for return on investment (ROI), although there are still several challenges to tackle.
Following are a few tasks carriers in the region will be focusing on next year. It’s going to be a busy year.
- Cater to the corporate market. Every operator I talked to has a specific plan to gain and keep corporate clients. Carriers are courting large companies for obvious reasons; they would all like the lucrative Fortune 1,000 to be heavy data users and on their client rosters. And operators said businesses are ready for data. U.S. operator Verizon Wireless, for example, has rolled out a vertical market sales team to target high-end enterprise users.
- Further expand and enhance 1x coverage. Part of capturing the business market involves nationwide, seamless coverage, particularly if your competitor offers nationwide data services. Operators want to ensure ubiquitous coverage to make enterprises happy, as well as improve the 1x experience for all customers.
- Find more low-end handsets with messaging capabilities. This one might relate only to Latin American operators, but it’s a major issue for them. Ralph de la Vega, president of BellSouth Latin America, which has operations in 11 Latin American countries, said his company has worked with Qualcomm to bring to market a low-end device because vendors are not delivering. Telesp Celular’s Luis Avelar, senior vice president of data development and marketing and who will soon head the combined Portugal Telecom and Telef
