Carlos Slim has rejected claims by lawmakers in Bogota that regulations need to be imposed on its telecoms company America Movil because it has a dominant position in the country's mobile market, Dow Jones Newswires reports. "In terms of a monopoly, in any economic activity in which two or three firms are competing, one has to be bigger than the other," Slim told reporters during a visit in the city of Cartagena. "The fact that one [company] has a bigger share is a result of customer preference."
The Colombian government is preparing to auction spectrum for 4G mobile services. Some Colombian lawmakers and government officials want America Movil to be excluded from the auction as a way of regulating the industry and reducing what they say is Slim's near-monopoly control of Colombian mobile market.
Slim believes that if the Colombian government excludes America Movil from the 4G auction, it would hurt the country's reputation as a supporter of free markets and competition. "There have to be clear rules in these countries," he said. "I don't think [excluding America Movil] is an alternative because I don't believe 29.5 million customers [America Movil's share of Colombia's 47 million wireless users] should be denied access to new technology."
America Movil's CEO Daniel Hajj addressed similar concerns about the operator’s position in Colombia during a conference call with analysts on 26 October. "What you need is investment, and to have those investments the country needs certainty, legal security, and if you have those things then the investments are going to come," he said.
