Your welcome, Tattoo!
Posted on 04/18/2007 8:03:34 AM PDT by LNewman
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative this week released its yearly review of telecom agreements negotiated with trading partners. In what is becoming an annual ritual, American officials once again reserved special criticism for Mexico's telecom market.
USTR is upset about a new system for terminating international long distance calls to Mexico that shifts all the costs to U.S. callers. But what really has them steamed is that Mexico's carriers negotiated interconnection rates even higher than those recommended by the Mexico's Federal Telecommunications Commission, known as COFETEL. The upshot is that U.S. carriers will end up paying $124 million more between 2007 and 2010 than they would have if the COFETEL rates had been implemented, according to USTR.
The report noted that Telcel, which dominates Mexico's wireless service, charges U.S. carriers up to 71% more to terminate calls on its network than it charges its own retail customers.
Experts have cited Mexico's telecom market as one of the least competitive and most expensive in the world. Giant Telmex controls more than 90% of the nation's fixed lines while Telcel's share of the mobile market is nearly 80%.
Both companies are controlled by Carlos Slim Helu, the world's second richest man, with a fortune estimated at $53.1 billion by Forbes magazine.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...
Gee, I thought that NAFTA was supposed to cure all this...
It goes beyond charging high rates for telephone calls and shifting the entire cost to US consumers - try and buy a bag of cocaine - ridiculous. What it cost to produce it and what these Mexicans charge is probably against all International trade laws and economic agreements.
Another comment from Fantasy Island. Thanks.
Maybe this would be solved if we gave them a billion dollars to fix their phone sysytem.
Oh, wait, Clinton ALREADY did that.
This is a penalty that is going to be paid for the most part by Mexican immigrants to the United States. Mexico didn’t get enough opportunities to screw them over while they were at home, so it has found a way to screw them over now that they are on American soil. This kind of business, repeated over and over, is another reason why they leave. Carlos Slim could afford to let them all call home for free for the rest of his life and still be a billionaire.
I'm still chuckling over your reaction. Do you understand it's the equivalent of claiming "gun control will cure crime?"
Don’t call Mexico.
Your welcome, Tattoo!
This is just more proof that the USA always gets the rear end of all these "free trade" agreements.
There is a very simple way to guarantee free and fair trade. US policy should be that we look at what tariffs other countries charge on our imports to them, factor in gimmicks like currency devaluation and such and then we reciprocate on their imports to us.
In this case, if Mexico wants to charge outrages connection fees to calls from the USA, then we charge their callers the same exact fees when they call us. Problem solved.
Of course, the free-traders will all opine that it is the USA that is entirely at fault here
Keep the Mexicans in Mexico, and let them fix the mess.
Glad you're chuckling. The over-broad and expansive claims for NAFTA by its original proponents are primarily what I lampooned.
But of course, you didn't realize the obvious.I guess I needed to put in the /sarcasm at the end for you.
Try phoning into/out of the beautiful Island Nation of Antigua and Barbuda. The local Cable and Wireless has a monopoly. The locals call it the “arm and leg” phone company. Costs me 30 bucks to direct dial from the hotel via Cable and wireless for a 3 min 14 second call home to PA....
Jesse James did it with a gun..
Which is why it is so reprehensible for them to claim that mantle...when they are the utter antithesis of it. We must not allow them to. We need to bust them on it every single time they try to mislead and misrepresent themselves.
Sometimes, you can't help it, though.
About 15 years ago I installed and commissioned a cellular system in Calexico, CA, 2 hours or so east of San Diego, and right on the border with Mexico. The Mexican cell carrier refused to coordinate frequencies with us. In fact, they were intentionally blasting their signal north into the USA, overriding our signal, in hopes of grabbing roamer traffic to enhance their revenue. Subscribers to the system in Calexico complained about getting huge bills from the Mexican cell carrier, something on the order of $20/minute. The Calexico carrier went to the FCC with a complaint, but with no result. To my knowledge, this is still being done.
I posted this because it has been suggested that American companies tax wire transfers to Mexico.
And here we go. Eagerly awaiting the appearance of all these hypothetical "free-traders."
U.S. Wins Telecommunications Case against Mexico in WTO.Note all the "free-traders" claiming that it's all the United States' fault. [hoot]
Raise prices for Americans, that'll teach those sneaky foreigners a lesson!
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