A little border war over Mexican-U.S. phone traffic

Article Abstract:

Long-distance telephone companies are competing for the lucrative and surging Hispanic market. AT&T and MCI are asking the FCC to prevent Mexico's Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex) from establishing a US presence through its proposed joint venture with Sprint. Calls from US-based Hispanics to friends and family back home total $2 billion annually, which represents 5% of the US residential long-distance market, according to Telmex and AT&T. Mexico was by far the most popular destination with 970 million minutes, followed by Brazil's 152 million minutes and Colombia's 143 million minutes. AT&T and MCI also are competing with Telmex in Mexico regarding charges to complete southbound calls from the US. Telmex, a former government monopoly privatized in 1990, seeks to lower per-minute costs from 39.5 cents in 1997 to 37.5 cents in 1998 and 19 cents by 2000. The US companies want to slash Telmex's fees to 25 cents a minute in 1998 and 10 cents a minute in 1999.

United States, AT&T Corp., T, Market share, Telefonos de Mexico S.A. de C.V., TFONY, United States foreign relations, Mexican foreign relations, Company marketing practices, Hispanic American consumers

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MCI wins Mexican long-distance license

Article Abstract:

Avantel, a joint venture of MCI and the Grupo Financiero Banamex-Accival, earns the first license from the Mexican government to provide long-distance telephone services. The Mexican long-distance market will open to competition on Jan 1, 1997 and is estimated to be worth $4 billion. Avantel will now be able to negotiate with the Mexican telephone monopoly Telefonos de Mexico and begin its construction of a network covering the nation. Avantel will spend $300 million between 1995 and 1998 to set up its business. Other large American companies are also setting up ventures in Mexico and will undoubtedly receive licenses from the government, which only recently announced the details of how it will award the free long-distance licenses. Each applicant must provide a five-year plan detailing its investment, marketing and financing strategies. Some enthusiasm for the market has dwindled because of Mexico's recession and the 1994 peso devaluation.

Telecommunications services industry, Telecommunications industry, Telecommunications regulations, Joint ventures, Telecommunications systems, Licensing agreements, Government communications regulation, Grupo Financiero Banamex-Accival S.A. de C.V., Government Activity, Avantel S.A.

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Toronto's newspaper war; Conrad Black's new entry turns up the heat

Article Abstract:

Conrad Black now has the Toronto presence and a national newspaper that he has wanted all along. But he had to start his own Toronto newspaper, the National Post, to do it. An attempt to buy the Globe and Mail from the Thomson Corp. was not successful. The question is whether Canada's largest city is large enough to support four daily papers. Mr. Black's other newspapers already comprise more than half of Canada's newspapers. He predicts the National Post will turn a profit in four years.

Canada, Organizational history, Newspapers, Newspaper Publishers, Management, Newspaper publishing, Abstract, Black, Conrad, National Post

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