Mexico Telecom Regulator Sees Wireless License Sales in 2nd Half 08
MEXICO CITY -(Dow Jones)- Mexico's telecommunications regulator Cofetel still hopes to sell wireless licenses this year after the government's original goal to finish the first auction in the second quarter was caught up in red tape, according to a top official.
"We are working on it, but there are time frames we don't control, such as the Finance Ministry giving us the minimum bid price for the spectrum auctions," Cofetel President Hector Osuna said at a press conference Friday.
The Federal Competition Commission also has to sign off on the bidding rules, he said.
The Communications and Transport Ministry gave Cofetel the green light to start its auction program in March, with a view to completing the sale of 1900 megahertz wireless licenses during the second quarter, and three other frequency bands by the end of September.
Communications and Transport Minister Luis Tellez said at the time the government expects to raise over $1 billion from the auctions.
Cofetel will sell three 10MHz blocks in the 1900MHz band in eight of the country's nine mobile telephony regions. The bandwidth will be used for fixed wireless and mobile telecommunications services.
Cofetel will also offer spectrum in the 1.7GHz-2.1GHz band for third-generation mobile telephony services, such as high-speed Internet and video, in all nine mobile telephony regions.
The remaining auctions are for spectrum in the 3.4GHz-3.6GHz and 3.6GHz-3.7GHz bands, which can be used for wireless broadband technologies like WiMax, and spectrum in the 70GHz-80GHz band for fixed-wireless broadband connections.
Government officials have said on previous occasions they hope to attract at least one new wireless carrier through the spectrum sales.
Mexico's telecommunications industry is largely in the hands of two firms controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.
Telcel, a unit of Latin America's No. 1 mobile operator America Movil, has about three-quarters of the country's mobile subscribers, reporting 51.5 million clients at the end of March.
Former state monopoly Telefonos de Mexico, or Telmex, controls about 90% of the country's fixed lines with 17.8 million lines in service.
President Felipe Calderon has shown greater willingness to boost competition in Mexico's telecommunications industry than his predecessors.
On Saturday, most of the major carriers will start offering number portability, which for the first time will allow consumers to keep their telephone number when they change service provider.
The measure is expected to remove an important barrier to competition in both the mobile and fixed-line markets, which in turn should lead to lower prices for consumers.
According to a Credit Suisse report, the introduction of number portability in Europe led to the migration of between 2% and 3% of fixed-line numbers within two or three years of its implementation.
"Not a lot of people switch (with portability). It benefits everyone because operators are going to offer better services to keep (their clients)," Osuna said.
-By Ken Parks, Dow Jones Newswires; 52-55-5001-5723; ken.parks@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
Posted to the site on 4th July 2008