Several major Mexican telcos reportedly filed complaints against one another yesterday to the Federal Competition Commission (CFC).
The reported complaints include alleged monopolistic practices and collusions over interconnection rates.
Telmex had made…
Several major Mexican telcos reportedly filed complaints against one another yesterday to the Federal Competition Commission (CFC).
The reported complaints include alleged monopolistic practices and collusions over interconnection rates.
Telmex had made a couple of complaints regarding alleged monopolistic practices from Televisa, reported Mexican newspaper El Universal.
Meanwhile, a group of telcos and television companies (unnamed) complained that Movistar, which is a subsidiary of Spanish telco Telefonica, and Telcel had colluded on interconnection rates.
The multiple complaints reflect the fraught state of the Mexican telecoms market at present.
Last week, 25 companies, including Grupo Salinas and Televisa, reportedly signed a statement saying that they would not pay interconnection charges to Telcel.
The dispute between Telmex and Televisa may be particularly significant because it reflects the growing tension between two of Mexico’s richest men.
Telmex is part of the America Movil group, which is controlled by Carlos Slim. Slim was reported as the world’s richest man today by Forbes magazine, which claimed that the net worth of the magnate and his family was US$74bn.
Media conglomerate Grupo Televisa is headed by Emilio Azcarraga. Forbes estimated his net worth in March 2010 as US$1.5bn, but Televisa’s huge market share of the Mexican television market (around 75%) gives him considerable power.
America Movil and Grupo Televisa are increasingly coming into competition as the telecoms and television markets converge in the country.
Regulators have said that Telmex should be allowed to run pay-TV services. The Televisa group includes Cablevision, which provides broadband, television and digital telephony services.
Grupo Salinas also brings another billionaire into the mix, Ricardo Salinas.
