Mexican Cable Company Megacable Inks Wireless Deal With Telefonica
August 25 2010 - 5:59PM
Dow Jones News
Megacable Holdings SAB (MEGA.MX), one of Mexico's biggest cable
TV companies, said Wednesday that it has signed an agreement to
sell the wireless services of Spain's Telefonica SA (TEF) to its
clients.
In a joint press release, Megacable said it will start selling
mobile telephony in the main cities within its coverage area by the
end of the year.
Megacable, which has over 1.7 million cable TV subscribers in
more than 200 communities, ranks as one of Mexico's largest
providers of "triple play," as the bundling of phone, broadband and
pay-TV services is known.
For Telefonica Mexico, the country's No. 2 mobile operator with
18.7 million subscribers, the deal will allow it to reach more
subscribers.
Competition is heating up in Mexico's telecommunications
industry as carriers seek to offer phone, TV, and data services
over both wireless and fixed-line networks.
Earlier this month, local media giant Grupo Televisa SAB (TV)
and its partner Nextel Mexico, a subsidiary of NII Holdings Inc
(NIHD) and the smallest of Mexico's four mobile operators, won a
nationwide wireless license in a government-sponsored auction.
The two companies plan to offer 3G wireless services such as
high-speed Internet starting in the second half of next year that
will complement the triple-play packages that Televisa already
sells through its cable TV subsidiaries.
Telefonica Mexico has started to sell 3G services after winning
wireless spectrum in two auctions this year.
As a result, incumbent phone companies controlled by Mexican
billionaire Carlos Slim face the biggest challenge to their
dominance since the telecoms sector was opened to competition in
the 1990s.
America Movil SAB (AMX), Latin America's biggest mobile
operator, has a market share by subscribers of about 70%, while
Telefonos de Mexico SAB (TMX) owns about 80% of the country's fixed
phone lines.
Megacable's CPO shares rose 2.4% to close at 31.63 pesos ($2.43)
on Wednesday.
-By Ken Parks, Dow Jones Newswires; 52-55-5980-5177,
ken.parks@dowjones.com
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