Telecomunicações de São Paulo

Many cities had their own Municipal Telephone Systems (S.T.M.), almost all of which had obsolete manual exchanges. Some larger cities were able to obtain automatic exchanges; for this purpose, Municipal Automatic Telephone Services (S.M.T.A.) were created.

Main private operators:

Creation of Telesp

Formed as a subsidiary of Telebras on 12 April 1973, it began operational activities on 31 May 1973 with the incorporation of the assets of Companhia Telefônica Brasileira in the state of São Paulo.

Telesp was accredited as a holding company in the state by Ordinance No. 369 of 31 May 1973, in accordance with the guidelines and the policy of unifying the telephone system adopted by the Ministry of Communications, since the telephone system was granted at the time to several operators, both private and public.

Presidents

1973–1979: The first Telesp board took office in April 1973, with Antonio Salles Leite as president. Until then, he had been CTB's economic-financial director, and he remained in office during the governments of Médici and Geisel.

1979–1985: Under the Figueiredo government, a new board took office in April 1979, with Carlos de Paiva Lopes as president; he had been vice-president in the previous administration.

1985–1990: A new board took office in March 1985 during the Sarney government, with Antonio Ignacio de Jesus as president; he had been the economic-financial director in the previous administration.

1990–1992: Oswaldo Lopes do Nascimento Filho and Marco Antonio Castello Branco, during the Collor government.

1992–1995: Waldemar Fernandes Neves, during the governments of Itamar Franco and Fernando Henrique.

1995–1998: Still under the Fernando Henrique government, the last Telesp board took office in July 1995, with Carlos Eduardo Sampaio Doria as president.

Regional management areas

The purpose of a regional management area was to market and operate telecommunications services, and to manage, operate, maintain, and control telecommunications systems and their supporting activities.

The six regional management areas were São Paulo East (OL) and São Paulo West (OW), created in 1979 through the division of the regional unit headquartered in São Paulo; Center-South (OA), created in 1976 with headquarters in Campinas; Center-West (OB), created in 1977 with headquarters in Bauru; North (OT), created in 1978 with headquarters in São José do Rio Preto; and Southeast (OS), created in 1979 with headquarters in Santos.

The regional management areas were divided into sectors, called operational districts; each had a coverage area composed of one or more tertiary areas. In the most important cities of each district, there were Telesp Service Posts, where it was possible to make calls, buy tokens and phone cards, send and receive facsimile, consult telephone directories, etc.

There were also Telesp Customer Service Stores, strategically distributed across the state's main cities and organized to offer every type of service that could not be provided through telephone support.

Locations served

Through 1992, its operating area covered 532 cities. After the creation of new municipalities, the operating area increased to 583 cities in 1993 and 602 cities in 1997, serving about 30 million people in the state of São Paulo.

Services

Fixed-line telephony

Main services provided:

Local calls, long-distance calls via Direct Distance Dialing (DDD), and international calls via international direct dialing (DDI)

Direct Inward Dialing (DDR): a service implemented in the 1970s, serving condominiums and larger companies

Collect call (DDC): service inaugurated in 1982

Toll-free dialing (DDG): 0800 service, implemented in the 1980s

Features of CPA telephone exchanges: implemented gradually beginning in 1982, offering users new telephone-service features that were then unprecedented, including call transfer, call waiting, teleconference, abbreviated dialing, long-distance call blocking, dedicated line, and do-not-disturb service

Telecard: launched in 1982, a card that allowed calls to be made without tokens or a phone card, with no payment at the time of the call; charges were debited to a telephone bill designated by the subscriber

Disque 200: service inaugurated in 1983, used to provide varied information on different topics

Modem: service inaugurated in 1984, equipment that turned any telephone into a receiving and transmitting hub for computer data via a video terminal

Areafone: service inaugurated in 1984, aimed at high-traffic subscribers to reduce call costs

Local calls to conurbated cities: service inaugurated in 1986 in the São Paulo, Campinas, and Santos areas

Public telephones

At first, the public telephones provided by Telesp were the "yellow orelhões" (with red telephone handsets that used telephone tokens), used to make local or long-distance calls to cities and localities within the same tariff area. These orelhões were installed in 1972 by CTB.

In 1975, the "blue orelhões" appeared (with blue telephone handsets that worked with DDD tokens), used to place direct long-distance calls to all cities and localities already integrated into the DDD system, or to others with operator assistance.

There were also "semi-public telephones" installed in establishments accredited as bars, restaurants, hotels, and bakeries; they functioned as both a public telephone and an ordinary telephone, thanks to a selector switch on the device.

In peripheral neighborhoods of large cities, as well as in rural neighborhoods that lacked telephony, there were so-called "vilafones", devices that made and received local and long-distance calls, installed in commercial establishments with easy public access.

To serve low-income populations, Telesp began installing orelhões in public housing developments in 1981. Also in 1981, the first public telephones for people with physical disabilities began to be installed. The first "community orelhão", a public telephone that made and received calls, was installed in August 1982 in the favela of Vila Prudente.

Another type of public telephone was "Falefácil", an alternative to "semi-public" phones, because it was a telephone with no dial or keys, only an indicator of minutes used; the person who placed the call was the responsible party at the establishment where the device was installed. Implemented starting in 1986.

Later, many orelhões were replaced by concrete cabins with clear tempered glass. The cabins were first tested in the cities of São Paulo, Santos, Guarujá, São Vicente, and Campinas, and then installed throughout the state, but they were not well received.

The telephone tokens used in public telephones began to be replaced by telephone cards starting in 1993.

Symbol

In 1973, the famous "Orelhão of Itu", seven meters tall, was donated by the Minister of Communications Hygino Corsetti and installed by Telesp in Praça da Matriz in Itu. It is one of the city's main tourist attractions and one of the reasons for its fame as the "city where everything is big", because the minister, honored with a banquet at the inauguration, ended his speech with the following words: O Brasil é grande, mas eu sei que Itu é maior.

Advertising

In 1979, Telesp launched the TV commercial "Vandalismo", better known as "Morte do Orelhão" because of the high rates of vandalism against the orelhões, and it is considered one of the major milestones in Brazilian advertising.

It was created by the renowned agency DPZ, and had significant cultural and social impact, as well as winning important awards for the agency and its creators Neil Ferreira and José Zaragoza, such as Gold at the Festival of the 5th Yearbook of the Clube de Criação de São Paulo in 1980, Best Special Project at the 3rd edition of the Rede Globo Profissionais do Ano Award in 1980, and the award for best special effects from the Hollywood Radio and Television Society NYC, because of the special effects conceived by Domingos Utimura, thereby obtaining international recognition.

Videotex

Established through Ordinance No. 107 of 26 May 1980 of the Ministry of Communications, under which Telesp was tasked with preparing a feasibility study for implementing a system intended to transmit information through the telephone network, with output on a television set or other alternatives, authorizing the installation in the city of São Paulo of a service for feasibility evaluation and the respective operational tests.

The contract to supply the equipment required for the pilot deployment of videotex was signed in 1981, with the experimental phase beginning in the first half of 1982. The service was officially inaugurated in December 1982, as Brazil's first experience in this field.

Cellular telephony

Telesp Celular was the mobile telephone operator of the Telecomunicações Brasileiras S.A. (Telebras) system in the state of São Paulo, a subsidiary of Telecomunicações de São Paulo S/A (TELESP). After being privatized it retained the same name until 2003, when it became known as Vivo.

Origin

Initially a superintendence within Telesp, it began operations on August 6, 1993, in the analog system, at a time when cellular telephony was still being established in the country, being designated for the implementation and operation of the cellular telephone system in a concession area that included 620 municipalities.

It remained a subsidiary of Telesp until the privatization process carried out in July 1998.

Shortly before privatization, Telesp Celular established itself as the largest operator in Latin America, implementing cellular telephony in record time across the state, serving about 1.141 million subscribers in 371 municipalities at the time.

Privatization

As part of the controversial privatization process of the Telebras system in July 1998, Telesp and Telesp Celular were split. The former came under the control of Telefónica; the latter was acquired by Portugal Telecom.

In the year 2000, the shareholding composition of Telesp Celular was as follows:

44.78%: Portugal Telecom

40.22%: Portelcom (74.20% Portugal Telecom; 25.8% Ptelcom)

In 2000, Telesp Celular assumed the cellular operation of Centrais Telefônicas de Ribeirão Preto (CETERP), which had been acquired by Telefónica in an auction held in December 1999. In July 2001, Telesp Celular operated in 470 municipalities in its service area, then with 622 municipalities (the state of São Paulo has 645 municipalities; subtracting the 23 municipalities in the CTBC service area results in 622 municipalities).

Subsequently, Portugal Telecom, in a joint venture with Telefónica Mobile, combined its assets with Telefónica Mobile, and together they created Vivo in 2003.

In 2005, a corporate restructuring occurred that transformed Telesp Celular Participações into Vivo Participações, which extinguished and incorporated Tele Leste, Tele Sudeste, Tele Centro Oeste Celular (acquired in 2003), and CRT (acquired in 1996), companies under the control of Telefónica.

Technology used

In 1998, months before privatization, the implementation of the digital system began, using the CDMA (IS-95) system, used by the operator for the remainder of its existence. Its successor, Vivo, maintained this technology in operation until November 2012.

Market share

In 2003, Telesp Celular held a market share of 66% in its service area.

Promotions

Among the promotions carried out by Telesp Celular, three stand out: in 1999, the product Baby, o celular inteligente, which sought to incorporate a market that at the time (1999) still did not have access to cellular telephony through a prepaid product, without subscription and at low cost.

In the same year, Peg & Fale was launched, featuring a rechargeable system in which a certain amount was paid upfront, and the remainder in monthly recharges, with the total amount later converted into credits for the user. In 2001, Peg & Fale was segmented in order to appeal to football supporters of six São Paulo teams (Corinthians, Palmeiras, São Paulo, Santos, Guarani and Ponte Preta), with the creation of Peg & Fale Gol, with cellphone models in the teams' colors and with the clubs' crests.

Coverage area

Telesp Celular operated on Band A, in practically the entire state of São Paulo, except 23 municipalities in the region of Franca, whose operation was the responsibility of Companhia de Telecomunicações do Brasil Central (CTBC-Celular, today Algar Telecom Celular).

Although they used area codes 012 to 019 well before fixed telephony, the basic mobility areas of cellular telephony (compatible with the tariff areas of fixed telephony) had their own prefixes, although with the same DDD code.

The initial prefix series used were 97x and 98x; later, the 96x and 99x series were used; and finally, 93x (only in area 011), all composed of three digits.

From 1996 onward, cellphone prefixes in area 011 began to be changed to four digits, using the 99xx prefix series, the first four-digit cellular prefixes in Brazil.

Subsequently, with the popularization of cellphones, numbering had to be expanded. Thus, when the digital system began to be implemented throughout the state in 1998, the 960x and 970x prefix series began to be used in areas 012 to 019.

Between 2000 and 2001, the prefixes of areas 012 to 019 that still had three digits were changed to four digits within the 97xx series.

From then on, mobility areas came to include all municipalities with the same DDD code, and their compatibility with fixed telephony tariff areas ceased to exist.

Internet

It included data communication and dial-up Internet services.

Telephone museum

The Museu do Telefone de São Paulo, inaugurated on 13 April 1977 as part of Telesp's anniversary celebrations, arose from the desire of president Antonio Salles Leite for there to be, in São Paulo, a museum dedicated to the device that revolutionized global communication. To publicize it, the museum appeared on the cover of the capital's subscriber telephone directory the following year.

Its collection consisted of objects belonging to Telesp and, chiefly, of the acquisition of the private collection of gaúcho Carlos Becker, considered at the time the fourth-largest private collection of telephones in the world. Combining the collections, the museum was one of the most important in the world, consisting of about 3,000 objects (including countless telephones), 100,000 black-and-white photos, 6,000 digitized photos, telephone directories, telephone cards, and various documents.

Located on the ground floor of Telesp's headquarters building and occupying more than 700 square meters, it became a major cultural attraction in the city. However, it has been closed for years and is inaccessible to the public.

Addresses

The first official list of addresses of Telesp for the city of São Paulo was the 80/82 edition, published by LTB, since the last edition had been published in 1972, when the capital was still served by CTB; its publication was then discontinued due to the high production costs.

LTB also published the 82/84 edition, when the list was discontinued again. It resumed publication starting with the 88/89 edition, this time by OESP Gráfica, and from then on the São Paulo address list began to be published regularly every two years.

In the interior, the address lists were published together with the subscriber lists and the classified directory. Starting with the 85/86 edition, they began to be published separately and only for the main cities, as required by regulation. But there were exceptions, such as List 107–Guarulhos, which combined in the same volume the subscriber, address, and classified lists.

Lists published included 130–Santos, 134–São José dos Campos, 141–Campinas, 151–Piracicaba, 152–Limeira, 153–Americana, 154–Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, 156–Jundiaí, among others.