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Viewing cable 06TEGUCIGALPA271, NEW HONDURAN TELECOM LAW PUT ON HOLD

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06TEGUCIGALPA271 2006-02-13 22:03 2011-08-30 01:44 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Tegucigalpa
VZCZCXRO5565
RR RUEHLMC
DE RUEHTG #0271/01 0442203
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 132203Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY TEGUCIGALPA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1013
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 6094
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEAFCC/FCC WASHDC
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP  0334
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TEGUCIGALPA 000271 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB/IFD, WHA/EPSC, INR/IAA, DRL/IL, AND WHA/CEN 
STATE PASS USTR 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/13/2016 
TAGS: ECON ECPS ELAB HO KJUS KPRV PGOV PINR
SUBJECT: NEW HONDURAN TELECOM LAW PUT ON HOLD 
 
 
Classified By: EconChief PDunn for reasons 1.4 (B,D) 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY:  In the face of rising opposition, a new 
draft telecommunications law designed to open the market to 
competition and meet CAFTA requirements was not introduced to 
Congress.  A last-minute attempt to introduce competition 
specifically into international calling was also derailed. 
Key players now enjoying the near monopoly environment may be 
the main obstacles for any future reform.  END SUMMARY. 
 
LAST MINUTE CALL UNANSWERED 
--------------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) EconOff met with two of the three commissioners of 
CONATEL, the GOH telecommunications oversight agency, on 
January 12 to discuss the prospects of passing the proposed 
telecommunications law (the &Ley Marco8) in the last few 
days of the outgoing Congress (controlled by the National 
Party).  During the discussion, the commissioners described a 
rising opposition to the law from representatives of the 
Liberal Party, which was set to gain considerable power after 
Liberal Party President-elect Jose Manuel &Mel8 Zelaya took 
office on January 27.  During the meeting, the commissioners 
took a call from outgoing President Ricardo Maduro, who 
informed the commissioners that the bill would not be 
introduced and asked for other ways to open the market to 
more competition. 
 
3. (SBU) The commissioners responded with a final attempt to 
introduce competition by extending the concessions (licenses 
to compete) awarded under a program called &Telephony for 
Everyone.8  The program, designed to expand telephone 
service to outlying cities and villages, allowed certain 
companies to compete in fixed line services by acting as 
sub-contractors to parastatal telephone monopoly Hondutel. 
The hastily drafted law (termed the Equity Law) would have 
allowed about twenty companies authorized for fixed line 
service to compete in the lucrative international calling 
market.  Despite calls from Ambassador to both then-President 
of Congress Porfirio &Pepe8 Lobo (National Party) and 
incoming President of Congress Roberto Micheletti (Liberal 
Party) supporting the measure, however, the law failed to be 
introduced.  Per Lobo, resistance from the Popular Block (a 
federation of leftist and anti-globalization civic groups and 
labor unions -- including some workers from Hondutel) was 
simply too difficult to overcome.  (Note:  This is a 
questionable statement, given that the minor leftist Union 
Democratica - Democratic Union - Party that supports the 
Popular Block does not have the votes to block legislation. 
End Note). 
 
4. (C) Even before the legislative defeats, CONATEL,s 
commissioners had indicated their concern that Liberal Party 
opponents to the new law were preparing to propose a new 
structure for CONATEL which would dramatically reduce the 
number of concessions awarded in the future.  The new 
structure would potentially replace the three CONATEL 
commissioners with just one and change the agency from an 
independent organ to one under the jurisdiction of three 
ministers.  This structure, per the commissioners, was 
adopted in Guatemala several years ago and since then ¬ 
one concession has been awarded.8  One commissioner would be 
able to tightly control the flow of concessions, they 
indicated, leaving the approval process in the hands of 
political forces that would play to their own agendas rather 
then benefit the market. 
 
THE OPERATOR,S CONNECTIONS 
-------------------------- 
 
5. (C) The commissioners freely speculated on where the last 
minute resistance to the laws originated.  The main culprit, 
in their view, was Mexican telecom mogul Carlos Slim (owner 
of AmericaMovil and TelMex) and his high-level connections 
with the GOH.  Megatel, one of the two existing cellular 
companies, is owned by a Slim company (America Movil), and is 
enjoying large profits on international calling and other 
services in a near-monopolistic market.  (Note:  Former 
President Ricardo Maduro reportedly was granted a large block 
of stock options at the time Megatel was granted entry into 
the Honduras market, but chose not to exercise them.  Despite 
specific contractual prohibitions on the re-sale of the 
concession within the first two years of operations, Megatel 
was sold in 2005 -- after less than one year of operation -- 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00000271  002 OF 003 
 
 
to Slim.  Late-night Congressional approval of the sale 
fueled rumors of corruption.  End Note.) 
 
6. (C) If Slim is in fact behind efforts to stall 
liberalization of the market, an additional possible 
motivation for reducing competition would be to maintain the 
value of Hondutel, which lies strategically between the 
former state-owned companies in Guatemala and Nicaragua -- 
both now owned by Slim.  Not coincidentally, the sale of 
Hondutel broke down several years ago when only one company 
made an extremely low bid for the unit.  The bidder was 
Slim,s Telmex, the former state-owned company in Mexico. 
 
HOW (NOT) TO BREAK-UP A MONOPOLY 
-------------------------------- 
 
6. (U) Up until December 25, 2005, Hondutel, the state-owned 
fixed line company, had a monopoly on all calling services 
except wireless.  Mobil company CelTel (owned by Milicom 
International of Luxembourg and Motorola) had been the sole 
operator on the wireless side from 1994 until 2003, when 
MegaTel (now wholly owned by America Movil of Mexico) entered 
the market.  On December 25, 2005, Hondutel,s monopoly 
expired on key services, particularly the high margin 
international calling, leaving the market open for all 
eligible companies to complete international calls without 
going through Hondutel,s network.  Without the new 
legislation, only CelTel and MegaTel are now allowed to 
compete in this newly opened market segment.  The cell phone 
providers immediately dropped rates by 50 percent, but 
experts argue that real competition would lead to a further 
reduction in calls to the U.S. of at least another 50 percent 
(from 89 U.S. cents per minute to under 20 cents.) 
 
7. (U) December 2005 was also the month for two key 
legislative proposals to be introduced.  One was the Ley 
Marco, or framework law, that would immediately allow about 
forty companies already approved for any type of 
telecommunications service under Telephony for Everyone to 
compete in lucrative areas such as wireless service and 
international calling.  A universal service fund would also 
be created to continue expanding service into rural areas, 
offsetting Hondutel,s expected revenue loss from increased 
competition.  Introducing the Ley Marco while the Hondutel 
monopoly was ending would move the market from a monopoly to 
open competition without having to go through a tight 
oligolopic phase of just Hondutel, CelTel and MegaTel. 
 
8. (U) The Ley Marco includes several key provisions that 
meet the technical requirements of CAFTA.  According to 
Conatel experts, the current telecom law does not 
sufficiently address requirements for: service resale, number 
portability, competitive safeguards, unbundling of network 
elements, universal service, and transparency.  Consequently, 
passage of the Ley Marco is deemed essential for successful 
passage of CAFTA.  USTR is currently reviewing proposed 
changes to the existing telecoms law that would fix these 
non-compliance areas -- thus allowing CAFTA entry into force, 
but not addressing the larger issue of bringing real 
competition to the sector. 
 
9. (U) The other key pending legislative proposal -- the Law 
to Restructure Hondutel -- was meant to attract foreign 
investment to Hondutel.  Proposed by the GOH modernization 
committee, the law would create a holding company that would 
allow Hondutel to issue shares, opening the door to new 
foreign investment without having to sell the company as a 
whole.  Strategic areas held by Hondutel, like fixed network 
coverage in major population centers, the technological 
ability to compete in wireless, and data services would 
benefit from fresh capital and improve the company,s ability 
to compete in the new environment.  This legislation was 
slated to be introduced at the same time as the Ley Marco, 
responding directly to critics, complaints of Hondutel,s 
inability to compete in the new competitive environment. 
 
10. (C) COMMENT:  With the Ley Marco on hold, the main focus 
of the outgoing CONATEL representatives was to sidetrack the 
Liberal Party,s initiative to restructure CONATEL and gain 
control over the concession process.  While the initiative 
was not introduced in the last Congress, the new Liberal 
Party dominated Congress may see it as a way to pass the 
CAFTA-compliant Ley Marco while retaining control over 
competition.  Ambassador delivered a non-paper to 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00000271  003 OF 003 
 
 
President-elect Zelaya on January 13 that reiterated the need 
for the Ley Marco while arguing against a new CONATEL 
structure.  Post will continue to support this view as CAFTA 
implementation talks resume in February.  END SUMMARY. 
Ford