Mexico's Power Co Gets Regulator OK For Broadband Service

Friday September 22nd, 2006 / 23h41

MEXICO CITY -(Dow Jones)- Mexico's Federal Telecommunications Commission, or Cofetel, said Friday it favors allowing the state-owned electric utility to lease capacity on its fiber optic network for broadband communications services.
In a press release, Cofetel said it has sent a favorable opinion to the Communications and Transport Ministry, which grants such concessions.
The power utility, Comision Federal de Electricidad, or CFE, has nearly 14,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable that runs along parts of its power transmission network.

Cofetel said the concession being requested would allow the CFE to act as a carrier-of-carriers, but not to offer broadband service directly to users.
The decision by Cofetel comes as the government is preparing to implement rules for "triple play," which would allow cable companies to offer telephone service and telephone companies to distribute television signals.
Triple play is the offering of phone, cable and Internet over the same network.
Cofetel considered that the entry of CFE into the broadband communications market would increase competition and lower prices. The country's biggest provider of fixed line services is Telefonos de Mexico (TMX), or Telmex. Cable companies have been offering broadband service for several years, and some have also been offering phone service via phone companies, acting as a carrier-of-carriers.


The CFE has also conducted tests with power line communications technology, where voice, data and video are transmitted on the electricity lines.
Cofetel stressed that the current approval is for the fiber optic network, and not for power line communications.