Mexico. In an extraordinary session, the Plenary of the Federal Institute of Telecommunications (IFT) resolved one of the pending files it received from the Federal Competition Commission, which refers to a Letter of Probable Responsibility issued by that authority in August 2013 for the realization of absolute monopolistic practices in the production markets, distribution and marketing of fixed telephony, restricted television and internet access services to final consumers.
The companies declared as likely responsible were Televisa, Cablevisión, TVI and Cablemás, belonging to Grupo Televisa; and Megacable, a company of the Megacable Group. At the end of the stage followed in the form of a trial and based on the analysis of the information collected, the IFT Plenary determined that Grupo Televisa and Grupo Megacable, through their subsidiaries Cablevisión and Megacable, respectively, they engage in the absolute monopolistic practice, provided for in section III of Article 9 of the Federal Law on Economic Competition, consisting in agreeing, in their capacity as competitors, to divide, distribute, allocate or impose portions or segments of the production markets , distribution and marketing of fixed telephony, television services
restricted and internet access to end consumers in various municipalities of the State of Mexico.
Given this, the IFT resolved, based on articles 35, section IV and 36 of the Federal Law on Economic Competition, to impose the following economic sanctions on the aforementioned companies:
To Cablevisión a fine of 8 million 733 thousand 746 pesos.
A Megacable a fine of 33 million, 576 thousand 102 pesos.
Similarly, the IFT resolved to order Grupo Televisa and Grupo Megacable to eliminate the accredited monopolistic practice and to present a mechanism with deadlines that guarantees it, which must be submitted to the Approval of the Institute within a period not exceeding 30 calendar days following the date on which the notification of the resolution, based on articles 2, 9 section III, and 35 of the Federal Law on Economic Competition.
If this mechanism is not presented within the established deadlines, the companies will be entitled to a fine as a measure of urgency and it will be the IFT who determines the terms and conditions that the concessionaires must comply with to suppress the sanctioned monopolistic practice.
As part of the resolution, it was determined that the investigation did not accumulate sufficient information to prove the practice provided for in section I of article 9 of the Federal Law on Economic Competition, consisting of agreements with the object or effect of fixing or manipulating the price of the services of the investigated market .
