RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL, April 6, 1999 - Motorola
announced it has signed a $188 million contract (U.S.) with Brazils Telefônica
Celular to provide digital wireless telephones. Telefônica Celular will offer its
customers the choice of two Motorola phone models - the CDMA StarTAC ST7760 and the
MultiTAC SC3160 CDMA dual mode 800 MHz phones. Telefônica Celular is the service
provider responsible for providing cellular A band services in four Brazilian States that
utilize the CDMA technology. Motorola is expected to deliver the phones to Telefônica
Celular by December, 1999 for its supply to Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Bahia and
Sergipe.
According to Dante Iacovone, President of
Motorola do Brasil and vice-president and General Manager of the Personal Communication
Sector for Latin America-South, this deal has a historical significance for Motorola
Brazil. "It is the biggest contract ever signed in the country with a cellular
carrier for providing Motorola phones," said Iacovone.
The StarTAC ST7760 dual mode (CDMA and analog) phone weighs as little
as 105g and offers from 90 to 250 minutes of talk time and up to 120 hours of standby time
when operating in digital mode. Key features include: a display with multiple
visualization options and various font sizes; VibraCall silent alert, Caller ID, a Voice
Mail icon and text messaging system.
The MultiTAC SC3160 CDMA phone, launched in Brazil recently at Telexpo,
Latin Americas most influential technology trade show, is Motorolas newest
compact option for dual mode (CDMA and analog) phone users. The phone measures 12 cm in
length and 4.5 cm in depth and includes such features as: VibraCall silent alert; a
Portuguese options menu; a four line and 12-digit display with an extra line of icons that
makes retrieving incoming calling information easier to retrieve; and 99 alphanumeric
memories that can store the last 10 numbers called and the numbers of the last 16 calls
received. Additionally, the MultiTAC SC3160 CDMA phone is capable of Short Message
Service* (SMS) and Caller ID*.
With a single touch it is possible to read all the alphanumeric
messages previously stored. The phone operates with a Lithium Ion battery, the industrys
lightest battery technology, and provides from 130 to 145 minutes of talk time and from 24
to 60 hours of standby time.
Motorola is a global leader in providing integrated communications
solutions and embedded electronic solutions. Sales in 1998 were $29.4 billion.
Motorola in Brazil has 1,600 employees. From 1995 to 1998, Motorola
invested approximately $150 million in its Brazilian operations, primarily toward the
implementation of a new industrial complex, located in Jaguariúna, in the state of São
Paulo. Besides facilities for producing cellular phones, pagers, iDEN equipment and
cellular infrastructure (radio base transponders), the Motorola campus in Jaguariuna also
has a Semiconductor Technology Center and a branch of the Motorola University for the
training of employees, clients and suppliers. The company has a strong presence in the
country in semiconductors, two-way radios, networking, Internet and multimedia, as well as
in the development of several other solutions for the corporate and personal communication
markets.