La Jornada
Mexico City
Monday, February 10th, 2014 11:56pm
Carlos Slim’s Firm to Contest $138.5 Million Issued in Ecuador
By Miriam Posada
The company owned by America Móvil rejected the fine of $138.5 million dollars imposed upon it by the Superintendence of Market Power Control of Ecuador, on the basis that the company of Carlos Slim exercised “Abuse of Market Power” in 2012. Conecel announced that in it’s defense it would exercise the remedies provided by the law.
In a press statement Conecel stated that the fine is unjustified and that it results from “a complaint from the state-owned operator CNT (Corporación Nacional de Telecomunicaciones) in regard to five properties of the thousands that Conecel leases which CNT alleges that it was not able to expand it’s network. In the same zone in which are these five areas. there are other equally suitable options and properties where the required infrastructure could be installed. Therefore, there has not been any barrier for entrance nor restriction on competition for any operator. “
The company that operates in Ecuador as an affiliate of Claro said that, “The magnitude of the fine is disproportionate, violates the constitutional principle of proportionality, and affects the legal security in which the investment processes are based.
Conecel will exercise the remedies the law provides in order to achieve a resolution under the law that guarantees the due process within a frame of legal security.