| Colombia: Government backs inclusion of mobile in trade agreement |
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| Wednesday, 27 April 2005 | |
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The Colombian government has agreed to a motion from U.S. mobile operators for mobile telephony to be covered in the free trade agreement (FTA) currently under negotiation with the U.S.
The U.S. government wants mobile telephony to be included in the agreement, and is not convinced by the Colombian government's technical arguments. Colombia’s operators want to defend their investments and believe the market can be self-regulating. However, the Colombian government would like to establish equal conditions for all operators. Previously, U.S. mobile operators AT&T, Sprint, MCI and NII Holdings (Nextel), as well as Colombian trunking operator Avantel, asked for mobile telephony to be included in the negotiations. These operators believe that the same conditions should apply to all telephony services and that users should have access to new services and technologies. Source: Business News Americas |