Mexico To Set Telephone Spectrum Auction Rules To Encourage Competition

The Federal Competition Commission (Comisión Federal de Competencia) of Mexico has announced that in August 2009 it intends to determine rules to apply to the public auction of new concession titles to use the portion of the radio-electric spectrum set aside for mobile telephony in Mexico. The Mexican government's goal is to make way for new mobile communications entrants and foster the growth of established operators, which are expected to offer more competitive services in Mexico. The Competition Commission will attempt to balance this goal and the need to limit undue concentration among the incumbents. The Mexican Federal Telecommunications Law (Ley Federal de Telecomunicaciones) empowers the Competition Commission to give its opinion on how the public auction of spectrum frequencies should be organized. According to the Federal Competition Law, the Competition Commission must examine whether participants may acquire the market power to set prices unilaterally or