Telcel Agrees SMS Exchange with Nextel

Mexican mobile operators Nextel and Telcel have reached an agreement to interconnect their SMS services, Telcel's parent company América Móvil said in a statement.

Nextel, owned by US holding company NII Holdings, has been pushing for an SMS exchange agreement since the telecoms regulator Cofetel ordered all mobile operators to interconnect their messaging systems in 2003.

Incumbent mobile operators were able to argue that Cofetel's ruling should apply only to operators with mobile concession licenses, whereas Nextel has a trunking license.

Nextel tried pressuring Cofetel and the antitrust commission CFC to back its case, but it wasn't until January 2006 that Cofetel formally ordered the incumbent operators to include Nextel. The CFC looked specifically into the case of Telcel, which is by far the largest mobile operator, and in July 2006 ruled that the AMX unit must allow SMS interconnection or it would be in violation of Mexico's competition law.

Telcel and Nextel are now engaged in interconnection testing and expect SMS exchange to be fully operational before year-end.

Movistar México, a unit of Spain's Telefónica (NYSE: TEF), was the only operator to adhere to Cofetel's January 2006 order by the March 12 deadline.

BNAmericas.com"

Posted to the site on 13th November 2006