The announcement of the merger of the cable operators Montecable, New Century and TCC in a single company in Montevideo generated controversy within Antel, as well as in the political arena, based on the possible losses that the state company would suffer as a result of this decision.
This week the Regulatory Unit for Services Communications (Ursec) and the legal unity of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining (MIEM) They approved the merger of the three companies into one, although the signature of the authorisation has yet to be obtained. Presidency.
From this, from the Broad Front They began to question the possible consequences that this merger would have on Antel since, from the possible merger of the cable operators only one major competitor would enter the market in terms of internet services for the state-owned company.
At a time when the possibility of these companies using the state-owned company’s fibre optic infrastructure to provide service to homes is being discussed.
Some of the criticisms in this regard revolved around the use by the private sector of the state investment that was 1,000 million dollars, now in a way that would become unfair due to the merger of Montecable, Nuevosiglo and TCC.
The questions
The last to object to the merger of the cable operators was the deputy for the Broad Front in Rocha, Gabriel Tinaglini. “Access to Antel’s fiber optics by cable operators would continue to weaken the public company with multimillion-dollar losses (between 30 and 60 million dollars annually) and some large private companies would multiply their profits,” he said on his social networks.
For his part, the director of Antel for the Broad Front, Daniel Larrosa, In an interview with La Diaria, “it is understandable that companies are joining forces to try to reduce costs and try to impose themselves beyond Antel.” “They are making their move to corner the largest market, the problem is how Antel reacts, which for the moment seems to be by collaborating,” he added.
For the leader, the creation of a model that offers coverage to 90% of Uruguayan homes “meant that there would be no competitor,” but, since it has already been opened, now the public telecommunications company does not have to “collaborate,” but rather has to “compete”.
Source: Ambito
