Fox News | March 3, 2011
More than 20 telephone operators have banded together to ask the Mexican government to regulate the interconnection fees charged by billionaire Carlos Slim’s Telcel, the companies said.
“In an unprecedented move, our country’s telecommunications operators … have joined together with the goal of asking the federal government to impose a pro-competitive regulation in the matter of interconnection fees for the benefit of 90 million Mexican consumers,” Iusacell, Bestel and Cablevision said in separate statements.
Iusacell and Unefon, which belong to Grupo Salinas, and Grupo Televisa’s Sky, Cablevision, Bestel and Cablemas are among the companies working to sway regulators.
Axtel-Avantel, Marcatel, Nextel de Mexico and some cable television operators that offer “triple-play” service, including Cosmored, Grupo Matsa, MegaCable, Sky, Telecab and Telecable, are also involved.
“We are willing to not charge Telcel for interconnection in exchange for reciprocal treatment that will benefit all telephone users in Mexico,” guaranteeing a reduction in the current high prices, the companies said.
The telephone operators, citing Federal Competition Commission, or CFC, figures, said they expected customers to save around 73.5 billion pesos (about $6.07 billion).
The telecom companies are plagued by “a poor level of investment” and are banding together to avoid “paying for the services provided by Telcel because they lack their own infrastructure,” Telcel said.
Interconnection fees have fallen from 1.90 pesos (15 cents) per minute in 2005 to 0.80 pesos per minute (6 cents) today but “are not reflected in the rates that the companies’ users pay,” Telcel said.
……
Read full article here via Fox News
