Oi Brazil’s got a clever mobile app

Rating: Fixed
calls paid for via mobile sub

by Tony Dennis

I’ve
forgotten to mention one of the cleverest implementations of telecoms
convergence I discovered at Telcordia E5 conference in San Fran. It’s been
implemented by Telemar in Brazil which operates the Oi mobile
network.

If I remember rightly, the Brazilian authorities offer
cellular licences on a regional rather than national basis. So it cannot
build out a GSM network across the whole country.

So what do you
do? The answer is to combine fixed telephony with cellular when handset owners
stray out of coverage.

The service enables Oi handset subscribers
who can’t get a signal to pick up a fixed phone operated by Telemar.
They then dial a special code and put in their passwords, etc.
Having
done that, the calls they place are subtracted as minutes from their
contract or prepaid subscription.
It’s a sort of mixture between a
phonecard and a carrier pre-select service. The cleverest part is
that it’s not only convenient, it also builds customer loyalty and
reduces churn.
How new services can claim such an accolade?

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