Nextel de Mexico on brink of national 3G launch

Nextel is set to officially launch its third-generation (3G) network in Mexico in a bid to boost its competitiveness. Gustavo Cantu, vice president of the firm’s Mexican unit said that NII will initially offer HSPA+ services in 34 cities, including Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla and Cancun. The network will be able to offer mobile broadband at maximum download speeds of up to 21Mbps. ‘There are a lot of users that we haven’t been able to offer high speed data to in the past,’ Cantu said, adding: ‘We haven’t had the technology and the range of services and devices that we have now.’ Nextel de Mexico is the smallest of four mobile network operators in the country, with a market share of 4.0% at the end of June 2012, compared to America Movil-owned market leader Telcel with 71.2%, Movistar (owned by Spain’s Telefonica) with 20.0% and Iusacell with 4.8%. NII Holdings also operates in Brazil, where it plans to launch 3G services later this year, Argentina, Peru and Chile. The database adds that, having operated iDEN-based network services in Mexico since 1994.