Mexican government plans to give wireless license to Televisa, Nextel next week despite lawsuits
By Tomas Sarmiento and Cyntia Barrera Diaz
Reuters
Mexico's government will hand over a license to broadcaster Televisa and partner Nextel Mexico by next week that will allow them to deploy a wireless phone network in the country, an official said on Wednesday.
Nextel Mexico and Televisa, the world's largest Spanish-language content producer, won a chunk of spectrum in a government auction in July, but their claim has been held up in the courts, with competitors challenging their winning bid.
On Wednesday, a senior transport ministry official told Reuters the courts had dismissed the challenges.
Gerardo Sanchez, who heads the ministry's legal division, said the license would be handed over "early next week at the latest."
The two companies offered around $14 million for the nationwide license, the lowest bid allowed by the auction's rules, causing a stir in the industry. Rivals America Movil and Telefonica paid $400 million for another slice of the spectrum.
