MEXICO’S AXTEL FORGES AHEAD – FEBRUARY 2006.
In December 2005, Mexican local exchange carrier Axtel signed agreements with Intel and the Federal Electricity Commission – Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) – to develop WiMAX and Broadband over Power Lines (BPL), respectively. These technologies would complement and strengthen Axtel’s portfolio of services, by allowing it to provide broadband solutions in a multi-service approach. The company also said it was considering acquiring one or both of its rivals, Avantel or Alestra.
Formerly known as Teléfonìa Inalambrica Del Norte (Telinor), Axtel is Mexico’s second largest local fixed-line operator after Telmex. Based in Monterrey, Axtel provides a variety of local and long-distance voice services, Internet access, and data communications.
Axtel is approximately 58% Mexican owned. The remaining 42% is held by foreign investors, the major ones being: AIG-GE Capital American Infrastructure Fund (LAIF); AIG Latin American Equity Partners; Blackstone Group; American International Underwriters Overseas; and Soros Group.
Axtel announced, in November 2005, that it planned to hold an IPO with the aim of raising US$345 million on the Mexican and the US stock exchanges. It began trading publicly on the Mexican Stock Exchange in December 2005.
In 1996, Axtel received Mexico’s first competitive licence for both local and long-distance services. It entered the long-distance and international call markets in 1997. Then, in 1998, it won 50MHz of nationwide bandwidth in the 3.4GHz band, to provide fixed-wireless local service in nine regions of Mexico. It launched Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) local telephony in Monterrey in October 1999, in Guadalajara in February 2000, and in Mexico City three months later. It added León, Puebla, and Toluca in 2001. In 2004, it installed fixed wireless networks and launched services in six additional cities: Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, Aguascalientes, and Saltillo. In January 2006, it announced plans to expand its services to another five cities: Chihuahua and Torreón in the north, and Irapuato, Celaya, and Veracruz in central Mexico
Axtel’s 100% digital network is a mixture of access technologies, including FWA, point-to-point and point-to-multipoint radio links, and a fibre optic backbone. Axtel has one of the largest Wireless Local Loop (WLL) networks, offering residential and corporate solutions. It launched Internet access using wireless technology in 2000, and introduced a VPN offering in December 2003.
Axtel reported annual revenues of Mex$4.967 billion (US$468.8 million) for 2005, a 25% increase compared with the previous year. Local services accounted for Mex$3.567 billion, whilst long-distance revenues contributed Mex$451.9 million. The company closed 2005 with 605,900 lines in service, a 34% increase over 2004, but still far behind Telmex which boasts 18.1 million lines.
See also:
Mexico – Key Statistics, Telecom Market and Regulatory Overview.
Mexico – Fixed-Line Market and Infrastructure – Overview and Statistics;
Mexico – Convergence, Broadband and Internet market.
