Three Colombian-based service providers--Telecomunicaciones de Bogota (ETB), UNE and Emcali--are exploring ways they can combine their strengths to compete more effectively against cable operators and foreign service providers such as Telefonica (NYSE: TEF).
Following about four months of negotiations, the mayors of Bogota, Medelin, and Cali signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as the first move in creating an allied front between the three service providers.
Under the terms of the agreement, the mayors will develop a working group that includes the presidents of the three telcos in addition to three specialist teams to work on technical issues and define "mechanisms of cooperation."
Each of the service providers are examining how they could merge into one larger company, a process that would create Colombia's third largest service provider.
For more:
- Telecompaper has this article
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