Mexico puts fiber sale on hold

After a number of potential suitors said they needed more time to put their offers together, the Mexican government has decided to postpone the sale of two unused fiber lines originally scheduled for January until March. Pascual Garcia Alba, who is overseeing the auction for Mexico's Communications Ministry, said in a Bloomberg article that a new auction date is still being decided.

Among the service providers interested in buying the lines are Telefonica and Grupo Televisa SA. Both carriers believe the fiber lines would eliminate the need to leverage Telmex's lines to route long-distance voice and Internet traffic throughout Mexico.

Other than the state-owned power company Comision Federal de Electricidad, an alternative fiber wholesale carrier that provides service in some parts of the country, competitive service providers have had little choice but to rely on Telmex to transmit their data and voice traffic through Mexico.

Garcia Alba said the lack of competition in some parts of Mexico dramatically drives up the cost of transport, so the hope is this auction could provide more competitive rates for voice and Internet services. "This will usher in a greater diversity of providers and more options for the public," he said. "Surely that will lead to better prices."

For more:
- Bloomberg has this article [1]

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