WCA September 2013

Telefónica SA, with close to 20 per cent of the country’s 100 million mobile phone subscribers – are optimistic about the new laws. In particular, Francisco Gil Diaz, Telefónica’s president for Mexico and Central America, pointed out that the unusual step of including in the constitution details that would normally go in the enabling legislation safeguards the plan from challenges on constitutional grounds. The Wall Street Journal provided context: “America Movil has for years defended its market position through the courts, often blocking decisions by regulators.” Let the pundits agonise over encroachment by Washington on personal privacy: the public just wants a bargain A new study from Amdocs Ltd, the market leader in telecommunications billing services, strongly suggests that Americans are far less concerned about safeguarding their telecom privacy than might seem from the indignation over government “snooping” currently convulsing the media. As reported in Light Reading by Mari Silbey, a recent Amdocs survey found consumers willing to barter personal data for higher broadband speeds, service discounts, and priority customer service. Some 57 per cent of respondents told the Chesterfield, Missouri-based company that they would exchange data on Facebook “friends”, family members, and locations in return for a better service deal. “The Amdocs news is timely for a cable industry that has recently jumped on the big data bandwagon,” wrote Ms Silbey. “Vendors of every stripe were hawking their big data wares at the Cable Show (10 th -12 th June in Washington, DC), all in the name of helping operators streamline costs and increase” revenue opportunities. (“Bartering for Broadband,” 20 th June). The Washington-based independent tech writer noted that the Amdocs survey was released, at the show, in conjunction with the company’s new Big Data Framework. This combines an existing Amdocs product suite of data analysis technologies with packaged professional services designed to help operators extract more value from customer and network information. Supporting Ms Silbey’s view of big data as “a hot commodity for service providers,” the Amdocs research reflects evidence across multiple industries. Facebook, for example, is testing a service which would enable consumers to access free Wi-Fi in select locations simply by checking in with their Facebook accounts. Specific findings from the Amdocs survey: ❖ Forty-four per cent of consumers said they would exchange data for cash rewards

Chicago-based Boeing recruited more than 250 engineers to develop a permanent fix to the problem. This yielded a redesign of the lightweight but highly volatile battery and its encasement in a steel box. Safety regulators in the US, Japan and other countries approved the modifications, and the 787 returned to the skies in April. When the Boeing CEO spoke, the company had delivered 60 of the planes, with 830 more on order.

Telecom

Sweeping pro-competitiveness initiative in Mexico heartens companies struggling to gain on the dominant operators President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico on 10 th June signed into law a far-reaching reform of that nation’s telecommunications and broadcast industries that aims to curb the market power of companies like America Movil in order to increase competition and investment in the sector. As noted by Anthony Harrup of the Wall Street Journal , high costs and a low rate of investment have limited the number of Mexicans who enjoy access to modern telecom services. A 2012 government survey of households showed only 26 per cent of Mexican homes had Internet access; only 32 per cent of homes had computers. Mr Peña Nieto said that the scope and spirit of the constitutional reform, which seeks to give Mexicans access to better and cheaper telecommunications services and raise competitiveness, should be reflected in the secondary legislation, which Mexico’s Congress has six months to complete. The overhaul immediately creates a new regulatory body, Ifetel, with expanded powers including the ability to apply asymmetric regulation on dominant players and even force them to sell assets. The company expected to be most affected by new regulations is America Movil, which has 70 per cent of Mexico’s wireless subscribers and more than 70 per cent of fixed phone lines. Mr Peña Nieto said that Ifetel, which will have the power to grant and revoke telecommunications and broadcast concessions, will order asset sales “in proportions needed to eliminate anti-competitive effects.” But whether the new regulator would order a breakup of America Movil, or what assets the company could be required to sell, is uncertain. From Mexico City the Journal ’s Mr Harrup wrote: “Analysts at Moody’s Investors Service said in a recent report they expect asset sales would be a last resort in the case of operators that resist the pro-competitiveness decisions” of the new regulator. (“Mexican President Signs Telecommunications Reform into Law,” 10 th June). ❖ Competitors who have struggled for years to gain ground against America Movil and its fixed-line unit Telmex – notably Mexico’s No 2 wireless service provider

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Wire & Cable ASIA – September/October 2013