The Mexican government has reduced its projected investment in the country’s planned shared mobile network to US$7 billion and is working on setting rules for the tender that reflect changes in the competitive landscape.
The state has reduced its estimated spend from an initial $10 billion because the project requires fewer towers than were originally planned for, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing the country’s deputy minister of telecommunications Monica Aspe.
The number of towers needed for the network will be around 12,000, rather than the 20,000 originally envisaged, she explained.
Mexico called for expressions of interest to take part in the project in March with a view to opening the tender in the autumn. According to Reuters, 40 companies, including operators, manufacturers and consultants, responded.
The state plans to roll out a share wholesale mobile network – using 90 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band – that will provide extra coverage and capacity, as well as improving competition in the market; retail operators will be encouraged to rent capacity on the network.
However, the landscape has changed since the government announced its plans for the network a couple of years ago. Regulator Ifetel has imposed new rules to curb the dominance of America Movil, while AT&T has entered the market with the purchase of Iusacell and Nextel.
"Mexico’s telecommunications sector is different today to two years ago. The tender for the shared network has to recognise that," Reuters quoted Aspe as saying.
The state is mulling whether or not to allow retail providers like AT&T and Telefonica to take part in the network build, in addition to renting capacity once it is completed, Aspe said.
