America Movil vowed to take legal action against a resolution by Mexican regulator Federal Institute of Telecommunications (IFT) to press the operator to make changes to boost competition, due to concerns it holds a monopolistic position.
The operator argued new regulations were not based on “an integral evaluation in terms of competition of the different markets in the Mexican telecommunications sector”. It added the latest plan failed to account for “profound changes” in the market’s landscape in the six years since it last faced a regulatory clampdown, which it argued had already delivered “effective competition” in fixed and mobile services.
America Movil’s pledge was a response to an IFT resolution designed to boost competition in a sector it considers the operator to dominate.
In a statement, IFT explained it aimed to enhance consumer choice, wholesale access, and “supervision and verification mechanisms”.
It is also targeting a reduction in consumer costs, simplifying the unlocking of devices, an end to “differentiation” of on- and off-net charges, and clearer details on when promotions end.
Market competition
The IFT resolution is part of an evaluation process conducted every two years to promote competition.
Mexican authorities have targeted America Movil’s perceived dominance for years, with its efforts leading to the entry of major names AT&T and Telefonica.
Earlier this year, IFT fined an America Movil subsidiary $69 million for failing to share information on infrastructure.
America Movil is the leading player in Mexico, with GSMA Intelligence estimates for Q3 stating it had 68 million mobile connections (excluding IoT), compared with 25 million for Telefonica.
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