News
IFT to vote on new rating scheme on Friday, enabling America Movil to bill competitors from 2018
Mexico’s telecom regulatory will decide later this week on the rates America Movil is permitted to charge rivals for terminating calls on its network, it emerged on Tuesday.
The Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT)’s regulatory policy unit has drafted a proposal that would enable America Movil to charge AT&T, Telefonica and others 0.03686 pesos (€0.0016) per minute for calls made to customers on its network from next year, according to a document seen by Reuters. Rivals will be able to charge America Movil 0.1176 pesos.
The IFT’s seven commissioners are due to vote on the proposal on Friday, the newswire said, citing unnamed sources.
The sources explained that the proposed rates could be revised before the vote.
Mexico’s Supreme Court in August ruled that a law preventing America Movil from charging rivals for call termination was unconstitutional and granted the IFT power to set new termination rates.
The law in question formed part of a series of asymmetric regulations imposed on America Movil in 2014 to curb its dominant influence on the market.
Since then competition in the market has improved, in no small part due to the arrival of AT&T, which acquired Iusacell and Nextel in 2015.
Prior to the introduction of the zero rate regime, America Movil was permitted to charge 0.2 pesos per minute for interconnection, while rivals could bill 0.3 pesos, Reuters said.
