Telefonica to return Mexico spectrum assets

News Wireless Mexico 3 JAN 2020
Telefonica to return Mexico spectrum assets
Telefonica Mexico has decided to return mobile spectrum in the 800 MHz and 1.9 GHz bands as part of the parent company’s strategy to divest non-core assets and prioritise its four key markets of Spain, Brazil, Germany and the UK, reports El Economista. The operator will return the assets between 31 December 2020 and 30 June 2022, said the report, adding that the request was approved by the board of telecom regulator IFT on 04 December 2019.

The aim is to save some MXN 5 billion by 2022 after reaching an agreement to access AT&T’s mobile infrastructure in Mexico on a long-term basis. Telefonica previously complained that it was forced to invest the equivalent of 15 percent of its annual revenues in Mexico on spectrum costs, compared to around 4 percent in the other 17 markets in which it operates.


 

Categories:

Mobile

Companies:

Telefonica Mexico,  Telefonica

Countries:

Mexico

Tags:

Government telecommunications licensing, Wireless, Wholesale, Corporate strategy

Related Articles

MEXICO 12 JAN 2023

AT&T Mexico returns more spectrum assets - report

AT&T Mexico has returned a further tranche of its mobile spectrum in an ongoing row about the price of the assets, reports business daily El Economista, citing meetings between the company and telecom regulator IFT. If confirmed, the move marks the second time that AT&T has handed back radio frequencies following the 800 MHz spectrum it returned in 2020.

COLOMBIA 2 NOV 2022

Telefonica Colombia hands back spectrum assets in cost row

Telefonica Colombia has decided to return mobile spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band in view of the high cost of retaining the asset, reports DPL News, citing a letter sent by the company to the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications (Mintic). As occurred in Mexico, the operator complained about the onerous and prohibitive of the licence, above all in view of the temporary nature of the frequency allocation.

MEXICO 4 OCT 2022

IFT may auction Telefonica Mexico's returned spectrum

Mexico's telecommunications regulator IFT may auction a portion of the spectrum returned by Movistar Mexico (Telefonica) at its next frequency tender, reports DPL News, citing the watchdog's radio spectrum unit director Alejandro Navarrete. Telefonica returned mobile spectrum in several bands back in 2020 as part of a strategy to divest non-core assets and switch to AT&T's mobile infrastructure on a long-term basis.

MEXICO 7 OCT 2021

Mexico raises just USD 65 mln from multi-band spectrum auction

The Mexican government has raised just MXN 1.35 billion (around USD 65 million) from its tender of a total of 41 blocks of spectrum in the 800MHz, 1.9GHz, 2.5GHz and AWS bands, reports business daily El Economista. The IFT-10 auction saw only 3 bids submitted from AT&T and Telcel for around 10 percent of the spectrum offered following widespread complaints about the high cost of spectrum use and Telefonica's decision to use AT&T's network in Mexico on a long-term basis.

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 29 OCT 2020

Telefonica Q3 sales fall 6% in Latin America, announces EUR 785 mln Argentina impairment

Telefonica said revenues across its Latin American operations came to a total of 1.90 billion in the third quarter of 2020 compared to EUR 2.20 billion a year earlier, down 6.4 percent year on year on an organic basis and 13.6 percent on a reported basis. The result was a clear improvement in trends following the Covid-impacted 10.8 percent year on year decline posted in Q2, thanks above all to improvements in Chile and Mexico coupled with continued growth in Colombia. The newly-combined Telefonica Hispam u

MEXICO 27 OCT 2020

AT&T hands back Mexico spectrum assets in ongoing price row

AT&T Mexico has followed network partner Movistar (Telefonica) and returned mobile spectrum in the 800 MHz, according to information from telecom regulator IFT cited by El Universal. The US operator returned spectrum assets covering the fifth and ninth regions of Mexico's mobile network but retained 800 MHz frequencies held in the first and fourth regions, said the report. Like Movistar, AT&T has complained about the high cost for spectrum use in Mexico, which it says put it at a disadvantage compared to ma

MEXICO 9 OCT 2020

Movistar Mexico extends 2G switchoff date to January 2021

Movistar Mexico (Telefonica) intends to finally switch off its 2G network in the country on 01 January 2021, around 3 months after the original deactivation date, reports Xataka Mexico, citing an update on the operator's website. The operator began shutting down its 2G network in Merida around 18 months ago and initially planed to finalise the process in Mexico City on 30 September.

MEXICO 28 FEB 2020

Telefonica Mexico gains EUR 95 mln from returned spectrum

Telefonica Mexico has raised EUR 95 million after returning mobile spectrum in the 800 MHz and 1.9 GHz and 2.5 GHz bands to telecom regulator IFT, according to a notification issued to the Madrid Stock Exchange. The operator agreed to return the spectrum as part of the deal reached in November to access AT&T's mobile infrastructure in Mexico on a long-term basis.

MEXICO 16 JAN 2020

Mexican regulator publishes telecom infrastructure sharing guidelines

Mexico's Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) has announced the publication of a set of guidelines for the deployment, access and shared use of telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructure. The aim is to "establish conditions that allow the access of different concessionaires to the infrastructure elements of other concessionaires installed in buildings, shopping centres, subdivisions, hotels or any other real estate," said the document published in the country's official gazette.

BRAZIL 28 NOV 2019

Telefonica unveils plan to spin off LatAm business and prioritise Spain, Brazil, UK, Germany

Telefonica has announced a major organisational restructure following a meeting of its board of directors. The company's 5-point plan to generate more than EUR 2 billion a year in additional revenues from 2022 onwards involves prioritising its four key markets of Spain, Brazil, Germany and the UK, carrying out an "operational spin-off" of its Latin American business and setting up a subsidiary for its cloud, cybersecurity and Internet of Things (IoT) businesses called Telefonica Tech and another for its inf

MEXICO 27 NOV 2019

Telefonica Mexico to pay out MXN 5 mln compensation following Profeco class action

Telefonica Mexico has announced an agreement with consumer protection agency Profeco to pay damages to 40,293 postpay customers following a class action. In a joint statement with Profeco, the operator said it agreed to pay out a total of MXN 5.3 million for a 2010 service failure after calculating annual customer incomes, multiplied by a margin of error provided by the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT), plus an additional 20 percent. Affected customers will automatically receive the compensation i

MEXICO 22 NOV 2019

Telefonica and AT&T sign Mexico mobile access deal

Telefonica Mexico has announced an agreement to access AT&T's mobile infrastructure in Mexico with a view to improving the efficiency and quality of its network in the country on a long-term basis. The deal means Telefonica can immediately use AT&T's last-mile wireless equipment to gain capacity on AT&T's 3G and 4G network and any future access network technologies nationwide. Telefonica said it would maintain its transport network and all of its platforms, without operational or geographical restrictions,

MEXICO 18 NOV 2019

Mexican mobile lines up 3% to 118.6 mln in Q1

The total number of mobile lines in Mexico grew 3 percent year on year to 118.6 million at the end of the first quarter of 2019, according to the latest data from the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT). The vast majority of the lines (83%) were prepaid, with the penetration rate inching up to 95 percent of the population. Telcel (America Movil) accounted for around 63 percent of the market at the end of March, followed by Movistar (Telefonica) with 21 percent and AT&T Mexico with 15 percent. Around

MEXICO 12 NOV 2019

Telcel consolidates Mexico dominance with 72% of mobile market in Q3

Telcel (America Movil) gradually increased its dominance of the Mexican mobile market in spite of asymmetrical regulations imposed back in 2014, accounting for 71.8 percent of the country's revenues in the third quarter of 2019, according to data from the Competitive Intelligence Unit (CIU) cited by Xataka Mexico. The operator's revenues increased by 6.8 percent year on year to MXN 52.7 billion, ahead of rivals AT&T Mexico with 13.9 billion (up 0.3%) and Telefonica's Movistar unit with MXN 6.5 billion (up 0

MEXICO 5 NOV 2019

Telefonica Mexico sales inch up to EUR 300 mln in Q3 on rising customers

Telefonica Mexico posted a 0.6 percent year on year rise in organic revenues in the third quarter of 2019, reaching EUR 300 million compared to EUR 293 million a year earlier, on the back of improvements in postpay and prepay customer numbers and a 14.7 percent increase in handset sales. However, the company's operating income before depreciation and amortisation (OIBDA) slumped by 89.1 percent year on year to EUR 53 million in the third quarter due above all to spectrum commitments recorded as OpEx since t

Just In

19 DEC 16:42

SLT-Mobitel launches 5G network in Sri Lanka

19 DEC 16:19

Dialog Axiata launches 5G network, connects 1.5 million subscribers

19 DEC 15:56

UK govt to ban AI-enabled nudification apps to protect women, girls

19 DEC 15:42

3 UK launches last-minute Christmas sale

Commentary

13:56

Video market set for slower growth ahead

11:38

Netflix buys Warner Bros to deepen content catalogue

11:11

KPN's mixed performance in Q3 raises questions for strategy day

15:26

Stock markets breaking records but what happened to Odido's IPO plans?

Background

01:04

The week in telecom: Wi-Fi bolt-ons take off to boost broadband growth, video market works on consolidation

01:39

The week in telecom: Netflix wins bidding for Warner Bros, Apple poaches new execs, Samsung debuts trifold

13:51

Proximus vs. Telenet: Proximus performs better in Q3 while Telenet uses up cash

14:16

Proximus Domestic still struggling with low margins

Complete profile

Before downloading the whitepaper, we would like to ask you to complete your profile with company and position. After confirming you will receive the white paper.