This week, Mexico's Senate approved a new telecomm bill which is now headed toward the lower house of Congress for a vote. The bill is intended to increase competition and strengthen the regulatory telecomm body.

Under the approved version of the bill, the regulator will be able to set phone rates of dominant players. However, one of the most contentious parts of the bill comes to the determination of who is a "dominant player."

Of course, the dominant player in Mexico's telecom industry as a whole is Carlos Slim, who is worth an estimated $70 plus billion dollars and held the title of the World's Richest Man from 2010 to 2013. Slim controls more than half of Mexican's mobile and landline subscriptions. If the bill pases, it will undoubtedly impact his power over consumers in the telecom sector.

The television service has long been a known duopoly, controlled by Grupo Televisa and TV Azteca. Grupo Televisa controls 70% of the television network market and dominates the service itself, but Slim still dominates the telecom sector as a whole because of his telephone service activities.

In the television service, these companies will now have to share infrastructure with new entrants via an auction which will take place this September.

The power of television companies is very controversial in Mexico, and has been a long-standing contention, as it is said that broadcasted television effectively has power over Mexico not only in terms of social entertainment but also heavily impacts political discourse. However, the fear is that these companies will still manage to engage in antitrust activities by acquiring rights via new companies controlled by the same owner.

However, many have criticized the bill for classifying companies as dominant by sector (radio broadcasting and telecom sectors) and not by the individual service (public television, radio, fixed and mobile telephone lines, internet, etc.). Opposition mainly comprised of the PAN party and PRD party consider that this classification will not efficiently differentiate dominant companies by services and will prevent the regulatory body from imposing appropriate restrictions. Additionally, they contend that, even so, the restrictions imposed as established would be insufficient and inevitably benefit Televisa.

In other words, because Slim is the dominant player in the Sector (because of his telephone services) he will take the brunt of the restrictions in the television service, even though Televisa is a more dominant player in the television service. So, while Slim will be restricted against acquiring new television channels (even though he doesn't have any share in television services), Televisa is not classified as a dominant player and will not be restricted, even though it controls more than 70% of television services.

Other measures included in the bill is the imposition of a deadline for the country to transition to digital television by December 31, 2015. Also, by January 1, 2015, phone companies will no longer be allowed to charge consumers for long-distance calls placed to fixed lines or mobile lines, meaning that long-distance calls should be charged the same irrespective of what type of line it is. Also, pre-paid cellphones must now be allowed to check their account balance free of charge.

Measures to benefit the disabled population were also included, namely the imposition of subtitle requirements and language translation requirements of major news programs.

Consumer privacy concerns were also called into question, because although the law prohibits the misuse of content, including the use of mobile geo-localization services, it doesn't impose sanctions for those that violate the law.

Others criticism revolves around the proposal that radio and television channels will be allowed to substantially increase commercial content; the current limit of 18% will be increased to 38%.

While these actions may directly impact Carlos Slim in relation to his telecomm activities, the conglomerate business man has hedged his wealth over the years by investing in diverse business. In addition to Telmex (which is a branch of Slim's America Movil Company, Carlos Slim also owns companies ranging from department stores to restaurants. Sanborns, Dorians, Sears, Dish Network, Mixup, Saks Fifth Avenue, Inbursa, and even the New York Times are all companies that Carlos Slim has significant stake in.

borderzonie@gmail.com

@borderzonie