Mexican media company Televisa has decided not follow through on investments in Nextel and a new 3G network.
According to local press reports, the broadcaster was worried about the regulatory risks associated with the investment.
A Nextel/Televisa…
Mexican media company Televisa has decided not follow through on investments in Nextel and a new 3G network.
According to local press reports, the broadcaster was worried about the regulatory risks associated with the investment.
A Nextel/Televisa consortium recently won an auction for a 30MHz block of spectrum in the 1.7GHz band, but has been dogged by legal challenges since its victory in August. The consortium won the auction with a bid of Ps180m (US$14m); a figure many of its rivals said was unfairly low.
Televisa had committed to buying 30% of Nextel and invest US$1.44bn in building a 3G network in Mexico.
As a result, Nextel will still have access to its newly-won spectrum – ongoing legal appeals from competitors including Iusacell notwithstanding – but not have a development partner.
This may force Nextel into doing a deal with one of the other telcos operating in Mexico to help fund its 3G roll-out.
Neither Nextel nor Televisa had responded to a request for comments by the time of going to press.
