Mexico Antitrust Regulator Sets Caps For Spectrum Auction
September 01 2009 - 3:27PM
Dow Jones News
Mexico's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has set caps on the
amount of spectrum a single wireless carrier can obtain as the
government prepares to auction bandwidth in a bid to increase
competition in the market.
The Federal Competition Commission, or CFC, said it's
recommending that the federal telecommunications regulator limit
spectrum to 80 megahertz per carrier in the 800Mhz, 1700 MHz, and
1900 MHz frequency bands.
The CFC said its recommendation is aimed at encouraging new
operators to enter the market without inhibiting growth of existing
service providers. The cap will allow existing operators to
increase their spectrum by at least a third, it said.
America Movil's (AMX) local unit, Telcel, is the market leader
with 72% of the country's mobile subscribers, followed by the local
unit of Spain's Telefonica (TEF) with nearly 20%. Other operators
are Nextel Mexico, a unit of NII Holdings Inc. (NIHD), and Grupo
Iusacell (CEL.MX).
The four companies reported a combined 80 million subscribers at
the end of June, among a population of around 107 million.
The government expects to start the bidding process for the
1700MHz and 1900MHz frequency bands this month.
-By Anthony Harrup, Dow Jones Newswires; (5255) 5001 5727,
anthony.harrup@dowjones.com