Mexico's Telcel facing tighter regulation

(EFE Ingles Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Mexico City, Mar 28 (EFE).- Mexico's CFC anti-monopoly agency has confirmed an earlier ruling declaring Telcel, the local unit of Mexico City-based regional wireless giant America Movil, to be dominant in cellular call termination and therefore subject to "asymmetric" regulation.

Tuesday's unanimous decision was similar to a separate ruling in August 2011 that found Mexican fixed-line giant Telmex, like Telcel controlled by Mexican multi-billionaire Carlos Slim, to be dominant in call completion on its network, the CFC said in a statement.

In a non-unanimous decision, the agency also reversed an earlier ruling that had declared Telcel's competitors, Iusacell and the local unit of Spain's Telefonica, also dominant in cellular call termination.

The five-member CFC said the original resolution had not taken into account "the disparity in each operator's negotiating power." The agency added that Tuesday's ruling paves the way for the telecommunications regulator, Cofetel, to apply "specific regulation" on Telcel in areas such as the rates it charges its competitors for call termination and quality-of-service requirements.

At the close of 2011, Telcel accounted for 65.7 million of Mexico's 95.3 million cellular phone subscribers, equivalent to a 68.9 percent market share. EFE jrm/mc (c) 2012 EFE News Services (U.S.) Inc.

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