Latin America

Colombia’s CRC seeks enforceable access terms for COMCEL–Azteca merger

The telecom regulator says COMCEL’s proposed commitments do not adequately protect wholesale access to Azteca’s network. Competition authority SIC has yet to decide.

Colombia’s Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) sent a supplementary technical opinion on October 20 to the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC) on the proposed integration of COMCEL, which operates the Claro brand, and Azteca Comunicaciones Colombia. The CRC says COMCEL’s proposed commitments are insufficient to guarantee rival operators’ access to the network. The SIC decides whether to authorize the transaction; the CRC has neither approved nor rejected it. [1]

More than 250 operators use that infrastructure, according to the regulator. On 778 of the 874 routes it assessed, COMCEL would become the only fibre provider, while the proposed transaction would add about 32,000 kilometres of network across 893 municipalities. These are CRC estimates of a proposed transaction, not effects that have already occurred. Valora Analitik and La República covered the new opinion using the regulator’s analysis. [1][2][3]

The CRC recommended enforceable conditions covering capacity, quality and non-discriminatory treatment, independent audits and no automatic expiry. It said a formal duty to provide access alone would not prevent delays in expansions or repairs that disadvantage rivals. If the SIC authorizes the merger, it will determine any conditions. The archive photograph shows a Claro office in Bogotá in 2017, not the network involved in the transaction. [1]

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