IFT, the Mexican Telecoms Regulator has ordered Telmex, the fixed line subsidiary of America Movil, to open up the last mile of its network to rival operators, as part of the measures put in place to introduce greater competition in the local telecommunications market. The decision means Telmex will have to allow competitors to use the last mile of its fixed line infrastructure so that they can provide telecommunications services to their customers.

The regulator offered no further details of the specific conditions of the measure, which comes after America Movil was declared a dominant player in the sector last year, leading to a series of stricter rules. The company now has 60 days to submit the terms under which it will offer services to other operators.

AT&T announced plans to invest $3 billion USD in Mexico by the end of 2018 in order to extend mobile broadband services. This follows the US operator spending USD 4.4 billion to acquire local mobile providers Iusacell and Nextel Mexico. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson made the pledge in a meeting with Mexico’s president Enrique Pena Nieto, where he praised the regulatory reforms in the country, opening up opportunities for investment.

AT&T plans to create a ‘North American Mobile Service Area’, covering 400 million people in the US and Mexico with its mobile broadband network. AT&T said the first phase of its mobile network upgrade in Mexico will be complete in the next six months and cover 40 million Mexicans, about one-third of the population. By the end of 2016, AT&T expects its mobile internet service will reach 75 million people, nearly two-thirds of the population. AT&T plans to reach 100 million people by year-end 2018.

Next month, AT&T will introduce new plans for Mexican customers to use their individual plans — including voice, data and text messaging — while in the US. Customers on these new plans will also be able to use their available minutes to call friends and family in the US who are on the AT&T network. AT&T will also introduce Google Play billing in Mexico and roll out its customer experience programme Nuestra Promesa (Our Promise).

For its corporate social responsibility programme, AT&T will launch its ‘It can wait’ campaign to discourage texting while driving, become the first Mexican mobile carrier to collaborate with the Alerta Amber initiative tyo send alerts on child abductions to customers, and make contributions and work with non-profit organizations focused on education. In addition, AT&T will offer tuition support to help employees pursue educational opportunities to advance their careers.

Digicel has filed publicly in the USA for an initial public offering of an undetermined number of shares. The price range for the IPO have not been determined either, but Digicel hopes to use the proceeds for corporate purposes, including capital expenditure, acquisitions and paying off debt.

Digicel provides services in 31 markets in the Caribbean and South Pacific regions, serving around 13.6 million mobile customers. More recently the company has expanded into the broadband and TV market with acquisitions such as Bermuda’s BTC and Telstar in Jamaica, as well as the purchase of submarine cable assets.

The company claims the number-one position in 21 of its markets, with an over 50 percent share of mobile customers in 20 markets. In the year to March 2015, Digicel generated a net loss of USD 157.6 million on revenues of USD 2.794 billion. That compares to a profit of USD 43.5 million on revenues of USD 2.754 billion the previous year. Adjusted EBITDA totaled USD 1.181 billion, down from USD 1.223 billion a year earlier, and capital expenditure rose to USD 632.3 million from USD 485.4 million.

Bolivian state-run telecoms operator Viva has reached an agreement with Internet.org to launch the platform in the South American country. The platform will allows free browsing over mobile devices in regions with low internet access rates and will give Bolivian users access to websites such as Facebook, Messenger, Bing, Wikipedia, Wikihow, Accuweather, Goal.com, 24Symbols, UN Women, Agencia de Noticias Fides (ANF) and vivirENbolivia.net, among others.

The service has already been launched in Colombia, Paraguay, Guatemala and Panama, with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg also hoping to bring Internet.org to the 60 million Mexicans that remain offline.

A collective of mobile operators and ISPs in Brazil have launched an information campaign on mobile internet plans. The campaign uses a clear and simple language with the aim to increase consumer awareness of the service, including explanations of the franchise and its limits, practical examples of data consumption and factors that may increase consumption or affect the browsing speed, plus tips for improving the use of the data plan.

In addition to the campaign, operators are developing a series of actions to better inform customers, industry group SindiTeleBrasil announced. Among these is the adoption of a Code of Conduct, with conditions to be observed by the operators for a more clear, objective and transparent communication of offers. Taking part in the initiative are Algar, Claro, Oi, Sercomtel, TIM and Vivo.

Nextel Brazil has launched an important stage of the strategy to expand its share in the mobile market in Brazil. After registering significant growth in its 3G and 4G customer base in the past two years, reaching nearly 2 million lines, and wining the lead in post-paid net additions in Rio de Janeiro, Nextel is now aiming to reposition the brand in the country and establish a new form of relationship with mobile users, the operator said.

The company is betting on flexible plans, tailored to the needs of each customer, offering them the possibility of opting for the voice and internet franchise that best suits their profile, plus the ability to change their combination every month, whenever they want. Three service packages are available: Small, Medium and Large, with data franchises of 2 GB, 5 GB and 10 GB and voice franchises of 50 minutes, 500 minutes and 2,500 minutes, offering nine different combinations.

TIM Brasil has commenced testing of 4G in Ponta Grossa, with local customers already being able to browse the internet at higher data transmission speeds. TIM Brasil highlighted that the system was being trialed and would receive improvements, and coverage would be expanded by the end of the year.

In April, Claro Brasil also began testing in the city, in the region of Nova Russia. TIM did not say when the technology would be offered fully and definitively, nor the amount invested in the city for its implementation.