Mexico regulator rejects América Móvil’s separation plan
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Mexico regulator rejects América Móvil’s separation plan

Mexico’s telecoms regulator, IFT, has rejected plans submitted by América Móvil to separate its wholesale operations.

The Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT) rejected the plan submitted by América Móvil, Mexico’s biggest operator, and has given it 30 working days to produce a modified version. 




Following in the footsteps of UK telecoms regulator Ofcom, the IFT ordered that América Móvil divide the infrastructure part of its company into a separate business. 

In the decision the IFT said that the plan "should be modified in order to ensure the effectiveness of the functional separation and the fulfilment of the objectives laid out in the constitutional reform of the telecommunications market."

It added that the purpose of the separation is to “to eliminate barriers identified in the telecommunications sector” and to provide access to all operators to enable “healthy and free competition”, the regulator said. 

América Móvil is controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim, a fact that the Mexican government is said to be unhappy about with regards to Slim’s dominance in the mobile and fixed line sector. It has awarded a contract to a consortium backed by the World Bank to build a wholesale-only 4G network, Red Compartida.

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