Celcaribe (merged with Comcel)

active

Celcaribe was awarded a 10-year concession to provide cellular phone services through the A band in the Northern region in April 1994. Celcaribe paid US$ 120 million for its concession which represented 95% of the price paid by Celumovil for a similar concession. In 1997, the company paid US$ 9.5 million to have its license extended for another 10 years. Celcaribe's concession area concentrates around 20% of Colombian population. The Colombia government divided the country in three regions (North, East, and West) in order to assign the license for cellular phone services. In each region, the Colombian government assigned the B band to a private consortium and the A band to a mixed company. The B band was awarded through a competitive bidding, while the A band was assigned to a group of state-owned telecommunications enterprises which created joint ventures with international telecommunications companies. For the concession, the mixed companies had to pay 95% of the winning bid made for B band. Celcaribe is a consortium owned by Millicom International Cellular and its subsidiary Millicom de Colombia (73.2%). Celcaribe competes with Celumovil in the Northern region. Investment information was considered confidential by the company. In 2003, America Movil bought Millicom's stake in Celcaribe for US$98.3 million. After the acquisition, America Movil merged its Colombian operating companies (Comcel, Celcaribe, and Occel) under Comcel; accordingly all investment and other information is under Comcel. Government contact for info on all Colombia: Juan Pablo Hernández Marcenaro CRT - Comisión de Regulación de Telecomunicaciones Asesor 2003 investment figures were obtained by distributing America Movil's 2003 investment in facilities by the number of total subscribers for each project - thus 2003 investment is a proxy given other regional investment of America Movil. However, it was estimated that Celcaribe invested $88 million between 1994 and 1997 and US$10 million in 1998 based on the investment figures of Celumovil. Of that amount, US$ 35 million were invested in 1996. The company made a US$ 10 million capital increase in 1998. Celcaribe more than doubled its 2002 investments from 2001 ($12m vs. $5m) to extend coverage, go digital and install new equipment. It also signed an agreement with Metrotel for Internet access. * (+571) 6355550 Ext 183 * (+571) 6355551 * hernanjp@crt.gov.co G Cra 11 No 93-46 Piso 2 Bogotá, D.C., Colombia None