A consortium has reportedly submitted a bid to the Mexican government to build a US$10bn state-owned mobile network, which is aimed at loosening America Movil’s grip on the country’s telecoms market.
Telecoms equipment manufacturers Alcatel-Lucent…
A consortium has reportedly submitted a bid to the Mexican government to build a US$10bn state-owned mobile network, which is aimed at loosening America Movil’s grip on the country’s telecoms market.
Telecoms equipment manufacturers Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson have helped draft the proposal, according to a Reuters report citing unnamed sources.
The World Bank’s International Finance Corp (IFC) is helping the consortium identify a strategic partner during the pre-bidding stage, a spokeswoman said.
She added that IFC has also been mandated to scout for a lead arranger who will put together the financing package. IFC’s mandate will conclude once the government launches the bidding process.
“IFC’s engagement in this project is part of our strategy to support a competitive telecom sector in Mexico and to help expand access to affordable, high quality telecom services in the country,” the spokeswoman said.
The government is expected to announce a successful bidder by mid-2015 while the project is scheduled to complete by the end of 2018.
Earlier this year, local media reports had named Alcatel Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson, Huawei and Intel among the potential candidates to build the network.
China Development Bank and other Chinese state-owned banks were reportedly holding discussions with Mexico about financing the network.
The move is aimed at increasing competition in a market dominated by Carlos Slim’s America Movil, which controls 70% of the mobile sector and 60% of the fixed line segment.
The winners would supply the network equipment as well as manage the network, which would be used by MVNOs as well as Telefonica and Iusacell, respectively Mexico’s second and third largest players.
However, critics have reportedly warned that the initiative could also put off operators from investing in their own networks.
Alcatel-Lucent declined to comment on the matter, while Mexico’s telecoms ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Ericsson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
