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Viewing report
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Americas Market Perspective / Vol. 7, Issue 1, January Edition
Pyramid Research, Inc, Jan 2007
FIXED COMMUNICATIONS: Telmex’s Shopping Spree Not Limited to Colombia
Fixed Mexican incumbent Telmex, one of the largest operators in Latin America, recently purchased three cable operators in Colombia. Analyst Elizabeth Arias discusses how this move illustrates the company’s aim to continue expanding beyond its domestic border and increase its standing in the residential market.
MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS: Mexico: Mobile Number Portability Gets Carried Away in 2007 and 2008
Mexico looks to be the first Latin American country to implement mobile number portability (MNP) in 2007. Join Analyst Omar Salvador as he investigates the motivations behind MNP, its current state of legislation, and why Telcel and Nextel may benefit most from the regulation.
Extract:
Convergence Regulation in Brazil
Threatened by the success of Net Servicos’ cable-based triple play offer of voice, broadband, and video, Telefonica and Telemar purchased their own cable infrastructure in 2H06 by acquiring an equity stake TVA and Way Brasil, respectively. These moves, not technically allowed by existing legislation, have forced the Brazilian government to initiate a review of convergence regulation. The Minicom has created a study group to investigate the harmonization of the Cable and Telecommunications Laws. The central tenets of the legislative review will be the protection of the country’s fragmented and much smaller cable industry, as well as isonomic treatment of fixed telecommunications companies, which are currently not allowed to offer triple play services.
We see a high probability of a Chilean-style resolution to the convergence problem, with the regulators facilitating a rapid concentration of the cable industry in one players’ hand in return for allowing telcos to provide video services. However, we note that the process’ ultimate outcome is not clear given the highly combative stance adopted by the cable and telecommunications companies and the possibility of political interference in the decision.
WiMAX Spectrum
Anatel came close to auctioning spectrum suitable for WiMAX usage in the 3.5 and 10.5GHz bands in 2H06, but operator and Minicom’s resistance to the agency’s distribution plans prevented the auction from taking place. In an attempt to foster competition in the provision of broadband services, Anatel originally drafted auction rules that prevented the fixed incumbents from buying spectrum in their concession regions. Unsurprisingly, the incumbent operators took the matter to justice. They also counted with the support of the Minicom, which activated a bureaucratic machinery to prevent the auction from taking place since its own plan for the distribution of frequency bands was much more progressive in that it stipulated the free access to spectrum by municipalities. Anatel will likely have to rewrite the auction rules for WiMAX spectrum, which will delay the actual auction until mid-2007.
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