Telcel gets a slim win

Mexico’s largest operator has prevailed in a court case that reverses a ruling made four years ago preventing it charging its rivals for termination services.

The only problem is that the award is not retroactive, meaning those four years’ worth of fees of fees can’t be reclaimed. Furthermore those fees only apply to voice interconnections and, with the mobile world having become a lot more data focused over the time of the ban, it could be argued that this is a pretty hollow win.

The case applies specifically to Telcel, the dominant Mexican operator with around two thirds of the country’s mobile subscribers. It’s owned by Carlos Slim, one of the richest people in the world.

The Mexican supreme court concluded the original ruling was unconstitutional and ordered the Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones to determine what the interconnection rates should be by the end of this year. You can read more details about the ruling here.