After releasing positive third quarter results, the giant Latin American telecom group América Móvil released its forecast of U.S.$10 billion in investments during 2013—an amount similar to the amount in 2012.
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The main purpose of the investments would be to continue expanding the company’s network and provide smartphone subsidies. During an analyst conference call, América Móvil’s CEO Daniel Hajj said that next year and 2014 will be important in terms of subsidies. He also noted that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margins will remain pressured for a while.
Hajj also commented on Mexican Telcel’s LTE network launch now planned by March 2013. The launch has been expected since last year, and the carrier has been conducting trials. The initial plan was to deploy a pilot project in the last quarter of this year, most likely focusing on large cities, such as Ciudad de México.
América Móvil is also set to deploy LTE in Brazil, since the company’s unit Claro bought licenses in the 2.6 GHz auction. The first cities see the start of LTE services by April next year.
