Mexico widens power probe of Slim’s America Movil
April 30th, 2008 | by admin |By Chris Aspin
MEXICO CITY, April 30 (Reuters) - Mexico’s antitrustwatchdog on Wednesday widened once more a probe intomonopolistic practices by telecommunications companiescontrolled by billionaire tycoon Carlos Slim.
The Federal Competition Commission said it is starting aninvestigation to determine whether any company wields”substantial power” in Mexico’s local cell phone market, athinly-veiled reference to Slim’s America Movil(AMXL.MX: Quote, Profile, Research)(AMX.N: Quote, Profile, Research).
America Movil, the largest cell phone operator in LatinAmerica, provides service to seven out of every 10 mobile usersin Mexico, well ahead of the No. 2 operator, Movistar, thebrand of Spain’s Telefonica (TEF.MC: Quote, Profile, Research).
It is the eighth probe against Slim’s companies in the lastfive months. Six are looking into dominance issues involvingTelefonos de Mexico, or Telmex, the largest fixed-line phonecompany in Mexico.
The seventh is an investigation into the interconnectionfees of America Movil.
America Movil was not immediately available for comment,but in the past it has defended its market share by saying itinvests more and provides better service across the entirecountry and not just in profitable cities.
Telmex (TELMEXL.MX: Quote, Profile, Research) (TMX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) was declared “dominant” severalyears ago in a similar probe by antitrust regulators, but Slimgot that ruling overturned in Mexican courts.
Mexico’s Communications and Transport Ministry can setrates for calls between dominant companies and their smallerrivals.
