Mexico’s telecom regulator has instructed America Movil’s fixed-line operating units to amend the terms and conditions it offers to rival players using its local access network.
The Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT) on Sunday announced that Telmex and Telnor, both of which are part of the Mexican incumbent, have 20 days to submit new reference offers for local loop unbundling (LLU).
The move is designed to promote greater competition in the market, the regulator said.
The IFT has designated America Movil a ‘preponderant economic agent’, or dominant player, in the Mexican telecoms market and is working hard to level the playing field.
As it stands, America Movil controls almost two thirds of the Mexican fixed-line market.
Telmex and Telnor together had a 62.5% share of the country’s 20.9 million fixed lines at the end of the first quarter 2015, according to the most recent data from IFT.
Grupo Televisa’s various operating units had 19% of the market at the same date, while Telefonica’s GTM claimed 6.8%.
Two of the market’s smaller players, business services provider Alestra and consumer telco Axtel, agreed to merge at the start of this month in a bid to enable them to compete more effectively.
However, the merged entity – presuming the deal goes ahead – will still have a tiny presence. Axtel’s market share stood at just 3.9% at the end of March, while Alestra formed part of IFT’s ‘others’ category that made up 1.4% of the market.
