Ecuador, Telefonica To Sign Mobile Phone Concession Thursday -Government
Wednesday November 19th, 2008 / 18h18
QUITO -(Dow Jones)- Spain's Telefonica SA (TEF) on Thursday will sign a new 15-year contract with the Ecuadorian government to offer mobile phone services in the country, Jaime Guerrero, the nation's telecommunications regulator, said Wednesday. Telefonica will pay around $206 million for the 15-year concession. The company plans to invest around $400 million in the coming years to improve its networks and services such as 3G, or third generation services. Last September Mexican mobile phone operator America Movil SAB (AMX) also signed with the Ecuadorian government a new 15-year contract. America Movil will pay an estimated $480 million for the concession. Porta Celular, the local unit of America Movil, is Ecuador's leading mobile operator, with 7.7 million subscribers at the end of September. Movistar, the local unit of Telefonica, holds the No. 2 spot, with more than 2.9 million users. State-run Alegro has 672,000 clients. -By Mercedes Alvaro, Dow Jones Newswires; 5939-9728-653; mercedes.alvaro@dowjones.com Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/al?rnd=UTizz9U0BZpMDUM9Mn6yxQ%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
