Mexico’s three largest telephone companies unveiled details last week of their agreements to provide fair access to the country’s $12 billion telecommunications industry, setting the stage for what they called a new era of competition and investment.
The accords ended four years of disputes pitting the former Mexican monopoly Telefonos de Mexico S.A. against two long-distance competitors, one owned by AT&T Corp. and the other backed by WorldCom Inc.
The agreements will:
Lower the “interconnection fee” that long-distance competitors must pay Telmex for relaying their calls on its local network to 1.25 cents a minute from 3.36;
Create payment plans for the competitors to pay Telmex outstanding debts totaling about $140 million;
Provide clear rules on how and when Telmex must provide certain services to its competitors, such as hookups of private lines.
More Top Picks Stud Finder
The agreements do not automatically resolve a suit, pending before the World Trade Organization, in which the United States has accused the Mexican government of poor telecom regulation. But they do provide a legal framework that enjoys the support of AT&T and WorldCom, which have complained to U.S. officials about Mexico’s telecom rules.
Moreover, the accords will reduce obstacles to investment in an industry that is crucial to President Vicente Fox’s bid to turbocharge Mexico’s economic development.
The country has only 11.5 million telephone lines for its population of nearly 97 million. This is a low penetration rate compared with other large Latin American countries.