Telmex and Motorola started mobile WiMax tests in the region; they have both announced so within the framework of the 2nd WiMax Regional Conference 2007, organized by Grupo Convergencia and Convergencia Latina, held this week in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The presentation was under the charge of Shamik Mukherjee, Marketing director of WiMax for Home Business and Mobile Networks Unit of Motorola, together with Alfonso Zamarripa, Technical director of Telmex Internacional.

In the presentation, Mukherjee outlined the advantages of the 802.16 e version for all kinds of operators and governments, and he underlined that it could be a very interesting option for those mobile companies that need to jump from 2G. Motorola believes the agreement with Telmex is essential to consolidate a customer in a regional scale. For a while, the company has been fostering the development of the mobile version, expecting it would become a serious competitor for 3G services.

This technology stands out because it reduces the total cost of property of a network for the operators, while it improves the spectrum efficiency.  Moreover, the costs of implementation are relatively low. Mukherjee pointed out that Motorola already has 10 active networks in operation and there are other 10 being tested. However, the fact that handsets might be launched to market with an accessible price to compete with 3G is still triggering worry.

Another essential feature of WiMax is that it is deployed over the 2.5 GHz and 3.5 GHz frequencies. In fact, these are the licenses that Telmex have purchased in many countries of the region. Alfonso Zamarripa explained that Telmex’s strategy in Latin America has been modified with the huge expansion of the Mexican company. “The first phase of operator acquisition was characterized for having managed to achieve results and install the brand Telmex in different countries. Then, in 2005, the construction of a backbone IP / MPLS was made and now, they are undergoing a stage aimed at reaching all the markets where we were with voice and data services for small and medium-sized companies, and residential users. This made us choose a flexible technology and, WiMax is the best option for the new strategy”, said the executive.

Zamarripa explained that WiMax will be one of the three pillars of Telmex's strategy together with satellite technologies and cable television networks, to struggle with the countries where Telefónica is incumbent.