IFT plans to publish new regulatory measures for América Móvil in November

Javier Juárez Mojica, IFT’s president-in-charge, explained that the Institute’s Regulatory Policy Unit is currently finalizing the draft of regulatory measures for the Preponderant Economic Agent (AEP), América Móvil, so there is a possibility that the document could be analyzed between October 16 and 30 or November 13, dates on which the Institute has scheduled plenary sessions.

“I think we are about five weeks away from the issuance of that (the regulatory project), because we also have to comply with all the legal deadlines. And more or less we are there,” Javier Juárez said in an interview with the media.

The telecommunications regulator is required to review every two years the preponderance measures assigned to the company controlled by Carlos Slim to balance competition in this industry. However, the latest regulatory rules for the company were issued in 2020. But América Móvil sought to challenge them, considering that “they were not based on a comprehensive evaluation in terms of competition,” as it argued at the time.

Three years ago, as a regulatory measure, the IFT ordered América Móvil to facilitate the unlocking of terminal equipment and offer separate contracts, one for telephone service and another for the purchase and sale of phones.

In addition, it must give the consumer the possibility of continuing with the equipment contract if he or she decides to cancel the connectivity service contract.

It should also prevent unwanted charges to users, prohibit tariff differentiation or the so-called club effect, and improve reference offers.

The new project being prepared by the IFT Regulatory Unit will be based on an analysis of economic competition, as well as the comments made by the industry in the public consultation that the regulator launched last year.

Players such as Televisa and AT&T, along with the National Chamber of the Electronic, Telecommunications and Information Technology Industry (Canieti), proposed splitting Telmex, a subsidiary of América Móvil in the fixed segment.

The request would consist of selling Telmex in two parts to different owners. On the one hand, the part of services for users and, on the other, the infrastructure business. The measure seeks to achieve a balance in the telecommunications market, reduce Telmex’s monopoly and promote greater competition.

Telefónica is another company that has put forward a suggestion that has caught the attention of the industry. The Spanish company has suggested that Telcel share elements of its infrastructure through the multi-operator model called Multi Operators Core Network or “MOCN”. This model allows an operator to use the core of a company’s network, without the company being able to know or operate the traffic of the company that has leased its network.

So far, the regulator has not shared whether the issuance of the regulatory measures will bring with it new rules or, if applicable, the approval of any suggestions from the industry. However, it has maintained that the rules of preponderance will be in accordance with the new environment of the industry.