As it gets ready to face off against AT&T's (NYSE: T) eventual move into Mexico's TV market, América Móvil plans to build a new $50 billion fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network.
According to a report in El Economista, the telco is in the process of completing a five-year plan to build a 500,000-kilometer network that will support an enhancement of its residential service set with a focus on pay-TV services.
While it has not announced specific plans yet, it's likely that AT&T will serve up pay-TV services through its acquired subsidiaries Iusacell and Nextel in the next two years.
Being the incumbent carrier, América Móvil has a strong position in Mexico, from where it has expanded across Latin America. During the first quarter it reported it had 22.3 million broadband accesses and 21.6 million pay-TV subs throughout the region. By building a more robust fiber network, the telco plans to enhance its over-the-top (OTT) portfolio, including its streaming platform Clarovideo.
Despite seeing broadband churn in Mexico rise in the most recent quarter, the service provider could use the fiber network to also expand its Internet service broadband Infinitum Telmex and improve transport services running on Telcel's network.
As of the end of March, the service provider said it had 78.3 million wireline revenue generating units (RGUs) following the disconnection of 674,000 broadband connections in Mexico due to a change in its churn policy.
For more:
- Rapid TV News has this article
- El Economista has this article (translated into English)
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