América Móvil says that US concern on TV pays is due to ignorance - business news

Jan 25.(AXIS Business) - América Móvil, the telecommunications giant in Latin America, said it will adopt an opening position and seek to dialogue with United States authorities to dissipate the concerns that, according to journalistic reports, told Mexico to specifyAn eventual endorsement to the preponderant economic agent in telecommunications to offer restricted television service.

In a concrete way the company contemplates looking for the Office of the United States Commercial Representative (USTR) to meet and exchange concepts, said Carlos Slim Domit, president of the Board of Directors of América Mobe, in meeting with reporters.

"The concern is for the ignorance of the market, we believe that it is an opportunity to meet them and clarify that misinformation that there is, understand what the arguments are and be able to discuss them," added Oscar von Hauske Solís, international president of AmericaMobile."We believe that the issue of convergence is a fundamental and transcendent decision for the country and that it must be taken with many arguments, not with time pressures.".

Yesterday, Reuters reported that representatives of the US government raised their concern about the possibility that Mexican authorities allow the telecommunications giant to enter the pay television market in Mexico, for the impact for competition.

The concerns about the competition were indicated by the United States Deputy Commercial Representative, Jayme White, at a meeting held with personnel from the Ministry of Economy and the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) on January 12, people told the middle peoplefamiliar with the matter.

América Móvil has sought for decades to offer pay television in Mexico, a doubly prohibited yearning because its concession title is not allowed and because competition authorities intend to create more effective competition conditions in the face of preponderance in the telecommunications market, whatthat deserves asymmetric regulations.

América Móvil dice que preocupación de EUA sobre TV paga se debe a desconocimiento - noticias de negocios

However, in the last days of 2021, IFT, a regulatory body with autonomy of the Federation, said it would analyze the possibility of granting a permission to Claro TV, an indirect subsidiary of America Mobile, to offer the service.

According to Reuters, the possibility will be analyzed on Wednesday.

In this regard, executives of América Mobe remembered at the conference that the entrance to said market depends on the IFT, who presented their application to enter the television of pay three years ago.

In addition to the requirements established in the law and other investments, the company established a fiber optic commitment of eight billion pesos (390 million dollars), at the time it offered to make available to the last mile network so that it wasShared with all competitors and annexed a competition analysis.

En específico, una eventual aprobación podría complicar el negocio para otras empresas como la estadounidense AT&T o Grupo Televisa, quien recientemente junto con su contraparte estadounidense, Univision Holdings, recibieron la última autorización que forma parte del proceso de fusión que les permitirá crear la productora de televisión en español más grande del mundo.

With the passing of the weeks it seems that the concern for an eventual approval for América Móvil closes the clamp that allows it to convince more subscribers with a more round service has increased.

Carlos Slim Helú, the businessman founded by América Móvil, has shown closeness with the federal government in particular with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.At the end of December the president made a breakfast public and revealed that the company based in Mexico City paid 28 billion pesos in taxes corresponding to the sale of Virtual Mobile Operator Tracfone Wireless.

"I had breakfast with Carlos Slim who, in addition to a friend and good businessman, contributes to the development of the country," the president published on his Twitter account."For example, América Móvil sold a subsidiary in the United States and paid in Mexico, on December 16, 28 billion pesos to the Public Treasury".

The last to be alert is the Institute of Telecommunications Law (IDET), a Mexican civil association composed of specialists in the sector and information technologies, whom the entrance of América Mobe to pay television, throughClaro TV, represents a violation of the telecommunications chapter of the commercial agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada, T-MEC.

IDET said that in Chapter 18 of the T-MEC, Mexico reaffirmed the principles contained in the decree of constitutional reform of telecommunications of 2013, and promised that any change to the measures on the rates, terms and conditions of access and use ofnetworks, infrastructure and services of an important provider must promote effective competition and prevent monopolistic practices.

“In the first instance, for the IDET, the concession request submitted by Claro TV to provide restricted television services, represents in itself, a new and gross maneuver of the preponderant economic agent in telecommunications to try to make fun of the Political Constitution, the Federal Lawof telecommunications and broadcasting (LFTR) and the regulatory provisions issued by the IFT, as well as to evade the obligations and restrictions to which it is subject to preponderance, ”said the association.

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