The Mexican government is to begin selling-off new mobile spectrum in the next few weeks in a bid to stimulate competition in the country’s mobile sector, reports Reuters. Mexico’s Communications and Transport Minister Juan Molinar told a news conference yesterday that frequencies in 1.7GHz and 1.9GHz – spectrum suitable for 3G services – will be available. “The rules should be published by the end of the month or in early September,” Molinar said. The auction is designed to promote the entry of at least one new competitor in Mexico’s mobile sector. Local cable TV giant Televisa is one company thought to be interested in acquiring the new spectrum, which would allow it to offer mobile services bundled with its existing television, Internet and fixed-line telephony offerings.

The new auction is being seen as a way to break the dominance of America Movil’s Telcel in Mexico. According to Wireless Intelligence data, Telcel had 58 million mobile connections by 2Q09, representing a 72 percent market share. Its main competitor is Spain’s Telefonica, which had 15.6 million connections, a 20 percent share. Telcel is the only operator to have launched WCDMA services in the country to date.