By Julia Love
On Wednesday, President Enrique Pena Nieto and otherofficials gathered for the official launch of the so-called RedCompartida (shared network) - a wholesale-only project writteninto the nation's 2013-14 telecoms reform.
The government says the network will cut the costs ofdeveloping infrastructure for carriers, particularly in ruralareas with poor coverage, and make it easier for new players toenter the market.
"It's a model in which everyone wins," Pena Nieto said.
But
Operated by newly-created Altan Redes, the network currentlyreaches 32 percent of the Mexican population with 4g, and aimsto cover over 92 percent eventually.
Industry insiders thought Telefonica, which haslong struggled to gain traction in
AT&T, which spent billions to enter
"If the Red Compartida has coverage in an area where wedon't, we would certainly consider using it," a spokeswoman forAT&T said in a statement.
Slim's America Movil, which has
"I don't think they are going to give me something that Idon't have," Hajj told an earnings call last month.
Officials at Altan, which counts a fund managed by MorganStanley infrastructure and the
America Movil has about two-thirds of mobile phonesubscriptions in
In light of this,
But the network will initially create business for AmericaMovil, and carriers have little incentive to use it in areaswhere they already have coverage, said Scott Wallsten, presidentof the Technology Policy Institute, a
The network has a roaming agreement with America Movil andwill use some of the company's towers, Altan said.
Wallsten and other critics of the network argue
Altan must make a profit to keep investing in its network,said Jorge Negrete, CEO of think-tank Mediatelecom.
That could be tough without major players on board, thoughthe network could attract more mobile virtual network operators,whose presence has been limited in
Though the network aims to reach rural areas, experts saythe initial launch is skewed toward big cities, with coverage in
Altan said the network will initially cover 5.6 millionresidents in under-served populations, surpassing its obligationof 4.7 million residents in places with fewer than 10,000inhabitants.(Editing by Dave Graham and Frances Kerry)