LA Times: Mexican legislators on Wednesday passed a sweeping overhaul of the telecommunications industry that officials maintain will help break up monopolies and provide better service and more competition in the TV and telephone market.
Anticipating the approval, Mexican telephone tycoon Carlos Slim -- listed by Forbes magazine as the second-richest man in the world thanks to the near-monopoly he and his family hold -- announced he would sell off part of his empire to avoid a series of regulatory restrictions the new laws impose on any company with more than a 50% market share. Read more.
The MexicoBlog of the Americas Program, a fiscally sponsored program of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), is written by Laura Carlsen. I monitor and analyze international press on Mexico, with a focus on security, immigration, human rights and social movements for peace and justice, from a feminist perspective. And sometimes I simply muse.
Showing posts with label Mexico's telecommunication industry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mexico's telecommunication industry. Show all posts
Apr 14, 2014
Mexican Telecommunication Law Expands Government Surveillance and Censorship Powers: Digital Rights Activist
FSRN Radio News
April 11, 2014
New telecommunications regulations in Mexico have met opposition online and in the streets. The reform was originally presented as a way to break up telecom monopolies, but critics say it is being used to push through laws which would make lawful the mass surveillance of online activites and make government censorship easy and arbitrary. Activists in Mexico City protested the law Thursday by marching from the headquarters of Televisa – the country’s largest broadcaster – to the Senate. At the march, FSRN’s Andalusia Knoll spoke with Mexican digital rights activist Luis Fernando Garcia. Read more.
April 11, 2014
New telecommunications regulations in Mexico have met opposition online and in the streets. The reform was originally presented as a way to break up telecom monopolies, but critics say it is being used to push through laws which would make lawful the mass surveillance of online activites and make government censorship easy and arbitrary. Activists in Mexico City protested the law Thursday by marching from the headquarters of Televisa – the country’s largest broadcaster – to the Senate. At the march, FSRN’s Andalusia Knoll spoke with Mexican digital rights activist Luis Fernando Garcia. Read more.
Mar 29, 2013
Mexico Telecommunications Reform: Too Good to Be True?
HuffPost Blog
Irene Mia
March 28, 2013
A long-awaited telecommunications reform, presented to Congress on March 11 by Enrique Peña Nieto, was passed swiftly by the lower house with relative few modifications to its ambitious scope and is now set to be approved by the upper house in an unthinkable development just a few months ago when, in the run up to the presidential election (in July 2012), social protests, loosely coordinated by the #YoSoy132 student movement, erupted against media bias in favor of the now ruling Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI). More in general, the telecommunications reform, coupled with other significant steps made by Peña Nieto's administration to advance its reform agenda in just a few months may reassure those who were skeptical of the president's willingness and ability to challenge powerful interest groups (including unions, state government and business lobbies) which had historically been part of the PRI support base. The president has proven a master in pragmatic politics, as many other PRI leaders in the past, reaching out to the opposition and brokering deals outside and before presenting bills in Congress. Read more.
Irene Mia
March 28, 2013
A long-awaited telecommunications reform, presented to Congress on March 11 by Enrique Peña Nieto, was passed swiftly by the lower house with relative few modifications to its ambitious scope and is now set to be approved by the upper house in an unthinkable development just a few months ago when, in the run up to the presidential election (in July 2012), social protests, loosely coordinated by the #YoSoy132 student movement, erupted against media bias in favor of the now ruling Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI). More in general, the telecommunications reform, coupled with other significant steps made by Peña Nieto's administration to advance its reform agenda in just a few months may reassure those who were skeptical of the president's willingness and ability to challenge powerful interest groups (including unions, state government and business lobbies) which had historically been part of the PRI support base. The president has proven a master in pragmatic politics, as many other PRI leaders in the past, reaching out to the opposition and brokering deals outside and before presenting bills in Congress. Read more.
Mar 22, 2013
Mexico's lower house gives general approval for telecoms bill
Reuters
By Dave Graham and Miguel Gutierrez
Mexico City, Mar 22, 2013
Mexico's lower house of Congress gave broad approval Thursday night to a telecommunications reform that threatens to loosen tycoon Carlos Slim's grip on the phone market and broadcaster Televisa's dominance of the airwaves.
The proposal attracted overwhelming support, with 414 lawmakers in favor of the reform and only 50 opposed.
Lawmakers must still vote on amendments to the bill, which has dampened confidence in Slim's prospects, though investors are hopeful the Mexican tycoon can at least partly offset curbs to his phone empire by entering the television market.
The bill, presented by the government on March 11, aims to boost competition in the telecoms sector by increasing foreign investment and giving regulators the power to force companies with a market share above 50 percent to sell assets.
"In our country there is just one territory and it is not the territory or property of any one telephone company," said Julio Cesar Moreno, a congressman and member of the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, during the debate. Read more.
By Dave Graham and Miguel Gutierrez
Mexico City, Mar 22, 2013
Mexico's lower house of Congress gave broad approval Thursday night to a telecommunications reform that threatens to loosen tycoon Carlos Slim's grip on the phone market and broadcaster Televisa's dominance of the airwaves.
The proposal attracted overwhelming support, with 414 lawmakers in favor of the reform and only 50 opposed.
Lawmakers must still vote on amendments to the bill, which has dampened confidence in Slim's prospects, though investors are hopeful the Mexican tycoon can at least partly offset curbs to his phone empire by entering the television market.
The bill, presented by the government on March 11, aims to boost competition in the telecoms sector by increasing foreign investment and giving regulators the power to force companies with a market share above 50 percent to sell assets.
"In our country there is just one territory and it is not the territory or property of any one telephone company," said Julio Cesar Moreno, a congressman and member of the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, during the debate. Read more.
Mar 21, 2013
Mexico passes bill aimed at ending injunction abuses
Reuters
Mexico City
March 20, 2013
Mexican lawmakers on Wednesday approved a bill to eliminate the ability of companies that operate public utilities to block regulator decisions during the court appeals process.
The Senate approved the reform with a wide majority, and it will be sent to President Enrique Pena Nieto to be signed into law. The lower house already approved the bill.
Changing the legal code governing Mexico's complex legal injunctions, the bill will affect firms with public concessions, such as telecommunications and mining companies.
Companies, such as billionaire Carlos Slim's America Movil , have used injunctions to block regulator decrees. The tool has enabled firms to extend legal battles over years and stymie the ability of authorities to improve competition. Read more.
Mexico City
March 20, 2013
Mexican lawmakers on Wednesday approved a bill to eliminate the ability of companies that operate public utilities to block regulator decisions during the court appeals process.
The Senate approved the reform with a wide majority, and it will be sent to President Enrique Pena Nieto to be signed into law. The lower house already approved the bill.
Changing the legal code governing Mexico's complex legal injunctions, the bill will affect firms with public concessions, such as telecommunications and mining companies.
Companies, such as billionaire Carlos Slim's America Movil , have used injunctions to block regulator decrees. The tool has enabled firms to extend legal battles over years and stymie the ability of authorities to improve competition. Read more.
Mar 18, 2013
Mexico's Slim welcomes planned telecoms reform
Chicago Tribune
March 17, 2013
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim, whose wealth has taken a knock since the government on Monday unveiled a reform bill to overhaul the industry he dominates, said on Sunday he welcomed the plan as a boon for competition.
Hailed as the biggest shake-up of Mexico's phone and television market in decades, the bill aims to boost foreign competition and give regulators the power to force firms to sell assets if they have more than 50 percent of the market.
Slim, the world's richest man, controls about 80 percent of Mexico's fixed line business and 70 percent of the mobile market through his phone company America Movil. He declined to discuss the impact of the reform on his firm at an event in Mexico City. Read more.
March 17, 2013
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim, whose wealth has taken a knock since the government on Monday unveiled a reform bill to overhaul the industry he dominates, said on Sunday he welcomed the plan as a boon for competition.
Hailed as the biggest shake-up of Mexico's phone and television market in decades, the bill aims to boost foreign competition and give regulators the power to force firms to sell assets if they have more than 50 percent of the market.
Slim, the world's richest man, controls about 80 percent of Mexico's fixed line business and 70 percent of the mobile market through his phone company America Movil. He declined to discuss the impact of the reform on his firm at an event in Mexico City. Read more.
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