Randall Stephenson of AT&T. Randall Stephenson of AT&T. telecom lead

Mexico News Daily | Tuesday, January 20, 2015

The telecommunications firm AT&T has moved a step closer to its goal of creating a single mobile network encompassing Mexico and the United States.

On January 9 the company completed its purchase, announced in November, of Mexico’s No. 3 cellular provider, Iusacell. Today it announced that subscribers to its World Connect Value plan will be able to make unlimited calls from the United States to Mexico at no additional cost.

The offer applies to both fixed line and cellular phones. The plan itself costs US $5 per month per line.

When AT&T announced its purchase of Iusacell, chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson forecast a seamless experience for customers: “. . . it won’t matter which country you’re in or which country you’re calling — it will all be one network, one customer experience.”

A comment yesterday in Business Cloud suggested that Iusacell has huge potential in the Mexican market despite being in third place with just over 9 million customers. Deputy editor Steve Brooks noted the carrier has 70% population coverage and integrating its two networks will give it competitive advantages.

And if it brings its 4G technology and network it might be able to pick up a lot more market share, said Brooks, who cautioned that “foreignness” could represent a liability.

Stephenson observed that approval of the Iusacell deal by the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) was quick (it took about six weeks) and represented an example of “why Mexico is an attractive place to invest.”

He said the company plans to deliver an improved mobile Internet experience for its customers and that expanding and enhancing its mobile network “to cover millions of additional consumers and businesses is our top priority.”

Changes in telephone services have been ushered in by telecommunications reforms designed to bring more competition to the marketplace.

Source: CNNExpansion (sp)