{{Short description|Mexican division of the American telecom company AT&T}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2016}} {{Infobox company | name = AT&T Mexico, S.A.U. | former_name = Iusacell (1987–2015) | logo = AT&T Mexico.svg | image = SIMS AT&T México.jpeg | logo_size = | image_size = | type = Subsidiary | founded = {{ubl|{{start date and age|1987}} (as Iusacell)|{{start date and age|2015}} (as AT&T Mexico)}} | location = Mexico City, Mexico | key_people = Mónica Aspe Bernal (CEO)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://elceo.com/negocios/monica-aspe-bernal-es-la-nueva-ceo-interina-de-att-mexico/ | title=Mónica Aspe Bernal es la nueva CEO interina de AT&T México | date=March 27, 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.telecompaper.com/news/monica-aspe-confirmed-as-at-t-mexico-ceo--1375834 | title=Telecompaper }}</ref> | industry = Telecommunications | predecessor = Iusacell<br />Nextel Mexico | products = {{ubl|Wireless|Mobile Telephone|Internet}} | revenue = | parent = Grupo Salinas (2003-2014)<br>AT&T (2014-present) | num_locations = 6,000 retail stores; 3,000 owned stores<br />3,000 authorized stores<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://seekingalpha.com/article/4189740-t-inc-t-ceo-randall-stephenson-q2-2018-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=single|title = AT&T Inc. (T) CEO Randall Stephenson on Q2 2018 Results - Earnings Call Transcript | Seeking Alpha| date=July 25, 2018 }}</ref> | num_employees = 18,000 | subsidiaries = Unefón<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.commsupdate.com/articles/2015/08/26/att-mexico-rebranding-underway-unefon-to-be-preserved-as-budget-brand/|title=AT&T: Mexico rebranding underway; Unefon to be preserved as budget brand|website=telegeography.com|accessdate=July 17, 2023}}</ref> | website = {{URL|https://www.att.com.mx}} }} '''AT&T Mexico, S.A.U.''' (formerly known as '''Iusacell''' and '''Nextel Mexico'''), also known as '''AT&T Mexico Wireless''' and '''AT&T Mexico Mobility''', is a Mexican mobile telephone operator and subsidiary of AT&T. AT&T Mexico is headquartered in Mexico City. Its mobile network is available in 90% of Mexico, serving 13% of the Mexican wireless market. AT&T is the third-largest wireless carrier in Mexico, with 22.636 million subscribers as of July 2024.<ref>{{cite web |title=2th Quarter Earnings 2024 |url=https://investors.att.com/~/media/Files/A/ATT-IR-V2/financial-reports/quarterly-earnings/2024/2Q24/T_2Q24_ATT_Trending_Schedule.pdf |website=ATT Investors |publisher=ATT |access-date=28 August 2024}}</ref> AT&T Mexico operates under the AT&T Latin America division.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Investor Profile |url=https://investors.att.com/investor-profile |access-date=2024-10-09 |website=investors.att.com |language=en}}</ref>
==Services== The company provides cellular services reaching about 90% of Mexico's population. The company also offers local and long-distance telephony, messaging services, mobile television and wireless broadband services.
== History == AT&T Mexico was originally Iusacell prior to its acquisition by AT&T.<ref name=iusa>[http://dinero.univision.com/economia-y-negocios/grandes-empresas/article/2011-04-07/televisa-acordo-comprar-50-iusacell-tv-azteca?refPath=/noticias/ Mexicana Televisa acuerda comprar 50% de Iusacell: Univisión Noticias]</ref>
Bell Atlantic (now Verizon Communications) and Vodafone Group together acquired 74.5% of the company in 2001 from the Peralta family, which founded Iusacell in 1987. But following Iusacell's default on debts, the two companies in 2003 sold their stake to Ricardo Salinas Pliego's Movil@ccess in a deal valued at $7.4 billion.
===Movil@ccess tender offer=== In June 2003 a Movil@ccess (Movilaccess) of '''Grupo Salinas''', extended a tender offer to purchase the control of Grupo Iusacell's stock. At the time Grupo Salinas already own a mobile phone company, Unefon. The other major stock holder of Unefon, Grupo Saba, objected to the purchase of Iusacell because of debt and low profit problems. The former controlling shareholders of Grupo Iusacell, Verizon and Vodafone, agreed to tender the entirety of their stock, which resulted in the acquisition of a majority interest by Grupo Salinas.
===Merger with Unefon=== {{Infobox company | name = Unefon | logo = File:Unefon-200x300.png | logo_size = 150 | type = Subsidiary | traded_as = | industry = Telecommunications | founded = {{start date and age|1998}} | location = Mexico City, Mexico | key_people = | products = | services = Wireless communications | revenue = | net_income = | num_employees = | parent = AT&T Mexico | subsidiaries = | website = {{url|http://www.unefon.com.mx}} }} The company was partially owned by Grupo Salinas and Mexican media group Televisa, and its network was CDMA only, using no analog base stations.
In March 2007, Grupo Salinas announced its intention to merge Iusacell with Unefon Holdings. Unefon was a wireless telephony operator focused on Mexico's mass market.
The resulting company had over 3.4 million subscribers, equivalent to approximately 7% of the wireless telecommunications market in Mexico.
The combined Iusacell and Unefon was the first wireless cellular service provider in the country with a third-generation platform (3G CDMA EVDO) that gave users access to a wide range of other telecommunications services and multimedia applications, making the mobile network an efficient vehicle for data transmission and value added services besides voice.
In 2007, the merger of Unefon and Iusacell was announced.<ref>{{cite web | title=Serán fusionadas Iusacell y Unefon en una compañía | website=La Jornada | date=March 30, 2007 | url=https://www.jornada.com.mx/2007/03/30/index.php?section=economia&article=029n4eco | language=es | access-date=March 22, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last1=Universal | first1=El | last2=México | first2=Compañia Periodística Nacional. | title=Fusionan Iusacell con Unefon | website=El Universal | date=October 9, 2015 | url=https://archivo.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/415427.html | language=es | access-date=March 22, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Anuncian la unión de Iusacell con Unefon | website=www.elsiglodetorreon.com.mx | date=March 30, 2007 | url=https://www.elsiglodetorreon.com.mx/noticia/2007/anuncian-la-union-de-iusacell-con-unefon.html?from=old | language=es | access-date=March 22, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Martínez | first=José Manuel | title=Iusacell y Unefon se 'casan' | website=Expansión | date=August 28, 2007 | url=https://expansion.mx/negocios/2007/8/28/iusacell-y-unefon-se-casan | language=es | access-date=March 22, 2026}}</ref>
On November 15, 2010, Iusacell launched their HSPA+ network with speeds up to 21 Mbit/s. Similar to U.S. carrier T-Mobile US, it branded its HSPA+ network as "4G."
Starting 2010, Unefon started to use GSM technology and started sharing Iusacell stations and network.
However, on Wednesday, January 25, 2012, Cofetel temporarily refused to approve a merger between Televisa and Iusacell for illegal damage to third parties and hindering competition for open and pay television. This refusal continued until 2012 with Televisa and TV Azteca against Grupo Carso. Eventually, the merger was accepted with different conditions, among which allowing any company advertising time without condition, prohibiting the staff of Grupo Televisa and Grupo Salinas from hindering a developing third television network, and if not achieved within two years, undo the merger. With 8.2 million users at the time, the company also offered local and long-distance service, as well as wireless and fiber optic Internet. Fiber is available only in some neighborhoods of Mexico City and the states of Jalisco and Nuevo León. These services are offered under the brand Iusatel, messaging services (SMS, MMS, and email), mobile TV and mobile broadband (with your brand BAM). On Friday November 7, 2014 the US company AT&T announced the acquisition of Iusacell for 2.5 billion, including debt.<ref>{{Cite web|date=7 November 2014|title=AT&T Buys Mexico Mobile Carrier Iusacell for $2.5 Billion|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-11-07/at-t-agrees-to-acquire-mexico-s-iusacell-for-2-5-billion|access-date=20 June 2021|website=bloomberg}}</ref>
In September 2014, it was announced that Grupo Salinas would acquire Televisa's 50 percent stake in Iusacell for a fee of $717 million.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-iusacell-idUSKBN0H52EY20140910 Mexico's Salinas to buy Televisa Iusacell stake for $717 million] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151010154616/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/10/us-mexico-iusacell-idUSKBN0H52EY20140910|date=October 10, 2015}}. Reuters, September 11, 2014</ref> On January 8, 2015, Grupo Televisa announced that the sale of its 50 percent stake had been completed.<ref>{{cite news|date=January 9, 2015|title=Mexico's Televisa completes sale of its 50 pct stake in Iusacell|work=Reuters|url=http://reuters.com/article/idUSL1N0UO05P20150109?irpc=932|access-date=January 9, 2015}}</ref>
'''Unefon''' remains as a brand used by AT&T Mexico, a subsidiary of AT&T Inc., used for prepaid products.
===Merger of Iusacell and Nextel into AT&T=== thumb|Former logo of Iusacell In November 2014, AT&T announced it would acquire Iusacell for US$2.5 billion from Grupo Salinas.<ref name="Bloomberg1">{{cite news|title=AT&T Buys Mexico Mobile Carrier Iusacell for $2.5 Billion|newspaper=Bloomberg.com |date=November 7, 2014 |url=http://bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-07/at-t-agrees-to-acquire-mexico-s-iusacell-for-2-5-billion.html|access-date=January 16, 2015|publisher=Bloomberg}}</ref> The price includes $800 million in debt.<ref name= "Bloomberg1"/> Under the terms of the agreement, AT&T would acquire all of Iusacell's wireless properties, including licenses, network assets, retail stores and approximately 8.6 million subscribers. The purchase was completed on January 16, 2015.<ref name="Bloomberg2">{{cite news|title=AT&T Names Arroyo as CEO of Mexican Iusacell Mobile Unit|newspaper=Bloomberg.com |date=January 16, 2015 |url=http://bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-16/at-t-names-thadeus-arroyo-as-ceo-of-mexican-iusacell-unit.html|access-date=January 16, 2015|publisher=Bloomberg}}</ref> On January 30, 2015, AT&T announced the purchase of Nextel Mexico for $1.875 billion from NII Holdings, excluding financial debts. The transaction was completed and approved by the Federal Telecommunications Institute in Mexico and the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of New York on April 30, 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 30, 2015|title=AT&T concreta la compra de Nextel|url=http://expansion.mx/negocios/2015/04/30/att-concluye-la-compra-de-nextel}}</ref> AT&T launched several new plans on August 24, 2015, under the AT&T brand and began renaming Iusacell and Nextel stores in a process that was completed by the end of 2016. AT&T invested an additional $3 billion in Mexico through 2018 to expand its high-speed mobile broadband coverage to 100 million people, The company currently holds the largest amount of spectrum in the country. While gradually moving the Nextel and Iusacell brands to AT&T premium services, AT&T intended to keep the Unefon brand, which was part of Iusacell, for low-end prepaid users.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Harrup|first1=Anthony|date=August 24, 2015|title=AT&T Begins Rebranding in Mexico|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/at-t-begins-rebranding-in-mexico-1440444273}}</ref>
On December 10, 2021, AT&T Mexico announced it intended to launch its 5G NR network using its 2.5 GHz spectrum, making it the first mobile network operator in the country to build out an NR network.<ref name="Fletcher">{{Cite web|last=Fletcher|first=Bevin|date=2021-12-10|title=AT&T initiates 5G deployment in Mexico|url=https://www.fiercewireless.com/5g/att-initiates-5g-deployment-mexico|access-date=2021-12-11|website=Fierce Wireless|language=en}}</ref>
== Network == AT&T Mexico currently operates a 3G UMTS, and 4G LTE, while it is currently testing a 5G NR network. It shut down its CDMA network on October 3, 2016,<ref>{{Cite web|title=AT&T 'apaga señal' de teléfonos sin chip|date=September 8, 2016 |url=http://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/empresas/at-t-apaga-senal-de-telefonos-sin-chip.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=September 15, 2014|title=El apagon CDMA de Iusacell | PasionMovil|url=http://www.poderpda.com/editorial/iusacell-cdma-el-apagon-digital-en-mexico/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Atrévete a vivir una mejor experiencia con tecnología GSM|trans-title=Dare to have a better experience with GSM technology|url=https://www.att.com.mx/cdma-pospago.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919042151/https://www.att.com.mx/cdma-pospago.html|archive-date=September 19, 2016|access-date=September 9, 2016|website=AT&T México|df=mdy-all}}</ref> its IDEN network in 2017 and its GSM network in 2019.
=== Radio frequency spectrum chart === {{Further|UMTS frequency bands|LTE frequency bands|5G NR frequency bands}}
The following is a list of known frequencies that AT&T Mexico owns and uses on its network. {| class="wikitable sortable" |+Frequencies used on the AT&T Mexico Network !Frequency range !Band number !Protocol !Generation !Status !Notes |- |'''850''' MHz CLR |5 | rowspan="3" |UMTS/HSPA+ | rowspan="3" |3G | rowspan="3" |Active | rowspan="3" |HSPA and HSPA+ services marketed as 4G. |- |'''1.7/2.1''' GHz AWS |4 |- |'''1.9''' GHz PCS |2 |- |'''850''' MHz CLR |5/26<ref>{{cite web |title=Mexican 4G spectrum auction attracts only two bidders |url=https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/telecom-regulation/12053-mexican-4g-spectrum-auction-attracts-only-two-bidders.html |website=Developing Telecoms |date=October 7, 2021 |access-date=22 January 2022}}</ref> | rowspan="4" |LTE/LTE-A | rowspan="4" |4G | rowspan="5" |Active/Building Out |Primary LTE coverage band. |- |'''1.7/2.1''' GHz AWS |4/66 | rowspan="3" |Additional LTE band for capacity. |- |'''1.9''' GHz PCS |2 |- | rowspan="2" |'''2.6''' GHz IMT-E |7/38 |- |n7 | rowspan="2" |NR | rowspan="2" |5G |Acquired in 2018 auction.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Fletcher |first1=Bevin |date=2018-08-08|title=AT&T Scoops Up More Spectrum in Mexico at 2.5 GHz Auction|url=https://www.designworldonline.com/att-scoops-up-more-spectrum-in-mexico-at-2-5-ghz-auction/|access-date=2021-12-11|website=Design World|language=en-US}}</ref> Network launched in trial in select areas in late 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-12-09|title=AT&T kicks off 5G rollout in Mexico|url=https://www.rcrwireless.com/20211209/5g/att-kicks-off-5g-rollout-mexico|access-date=2021-12-11|website=RCR Wireless News|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Fletcher"/><ref>{{Cite web|title=AT&T begins 5G rollout in Mexico – 5G Observatory|date=December 15, 2021 |url=https://5gobservatory.eu/att-begins-5g-rollout-in-mexico/|access-date=2022-01-15|language=en-US}}</ref> |- |'''3.5''' GHz C-band |n78 |Pending deployment |Acquired spectrum from Nextel merger.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Goldstein|first=Phil|date=2015-01-26|title=AT&T to nab Nextel Mexico for $1.88B from bankrupt NII Holdings|url=https://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/at-t-to-nab-nextel-mexico-for-1-88b-from-bankrupt-nii-holdings|access-date=2021-12-11|website=Fierce Wireless|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=5G Reconfiguration in Mexico|url=https://www.allnetinsights.com/blogs/news/5g-reconfiguration-in-mexico|access-date=2021-12-11|website=Allnet Insights & Analytics|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Mexico 3.5GHz Spectrum - Additional Reconfiguration|url=https://www.allnetinsights.com/blogs/news/mexico-3-5ghz-spectrum-additional-reconfiguration|access-date=2021-12-11|website=Allnet Insights & Analytics|language=en}}</ref> |}
==See also== * AT&T Inc., parent company * AT&T Mobility, United States wireless service provider owned by parent company * Sky México, television provider formerly part-owned by AT&T * Telcel, largest competitor * Movistar, competitor * Unefón, prepaid arm of AT&T Mexico
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Sources== * [http://www.hoovers.com/iusacell/--ID__53142--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml Iusacell at hoovers.com]
==External links== * {{Official website|https://www.att.com.mx}}
{{AT&T}} {{Mexican mobile phone companies}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:ATandT Mexico}} Category:Companies based in Mexico City Category:Companies formerly listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange Category:Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Category:AT&T subsidiaries Category:Telecommunications companies of Mexico Category:Mexican companies established in 1987 Category:Telecommunications companies established in 1987 Category:Mexican subsidiaries of foreign companies Category:2015 mergers and acquisitions