AT&T Mexico may be nearing its final days. The American multinational, one of the world’s leading telecommunications companies, is reportedly exploring the possibility of selling its operations in the country after more than a decade of failed attempts to compete with Telcel, owned by América Móvil, the telecom giant controlled by Carlos Slim Helú.
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Why would AT&T say goodbye to Mexico?
According to a report by Bloomberg, AT&T Inc., headquartered in Dallas, is already working with financial advisors to find a potential buyer for its Mexican unit. Sources close to the matter said the firm is aiming to obtain more than 2 billion U.S. dollars for the sale. These individuals, who requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the talks, clarified that no final decision has been made and there’s no guarantee the deal will go through.
The company has faced a challenging environment in the Mexican market for years. Despite telecom reforms introduced over the last decade —which aimed to open the market and reduce the dominance of Telcel— AT\&T failed to establish itself as a strong competitor to Slim’s telecom empire.
How much has AT&T invested in Mexico, and why didn’t it work?
AT&T entered Mexico with great ambitions. In 2014, it acquired Grupo Iusacell for $2.5 billion, a company then controlled by Ricardo Salinas Pliego. Shortly after, it purchased the Mexican operations of NII Holdings (Nextel) for nearly $1.9 billion. In total, its investment in the country exceeded $10 billion.
Despite this massive spending, AT\&T’s share in the Mexican mobile market never truly took off. The company has consistently maintained a significantly smaller share compared to Telcel, which remains the dominant operator.
Since 2017, tensions between AT\&T and América Móvil have escalated publicly. Slim accused the American company of interfering with his access to a TV license —a dispute that eventually led to verbal confrontations. The following year, AT\&T sold its stake in Sky México to Grupo Televisa, a move that was widely seen as the beginning of a strategic retreat from the country.
What is AT&T doing in the United States?
As it considers a possible exit from Mexico, AT&T has doubled down on its strategy in the U.S. The company is focusing its resources on deploying fiber-optic networks and developing a convergence model offering bundled home internet and mobile services. This strategy has allowed it to strengthen its position in the U.S. and focus growth on more profitable areas.
Telefónica also seeks to sell Movistar and leave the Mexican market
AT&T is not the only foreign company considering an exit from the highly competitive Mexican market. Telefónica, the Spanish telecom giant, is also reportedly in talks to sell its Mexican subsidiary Movistar México.
According to recent Reuters reports, the Spanish firm is negotiating exclusively with Beyond ONE, the parent company of Virgin Mobile México, for a potential acquisition of its operations. This move is part of Telefónica’s broader strategy to reduce its presence in Latin America and concentrate on its core markets: Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain.
The company has already sold assets in Argentina and Uruguay, and is seeking to replicate this approach in Chile and Ecuador. A successful sale of Movistar México would mark another step in that direction.
Who could buy Movistar México?
Virgin Mobile, the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) currently owned by Beyond ONE, appears to be the most likely buyer. The company acquired Virgin Mobile Latin America in 2023 and had previously bought Virgin Mobile’s operations in the Middle East and Africa. This regional expansion strategy positions Beyond ONE as a key player with a genuine interest in expanding its footprint in Mexico.
According to data from Kepler Chevreux, a financial services consultancy, the estimated value of Movistar México is around \$609 million —equivalent to more than 11.3 billion Mexican pesos.
Which operators could take over the market dominated by Telcel?
If both AT&T and Movistar exit, the landscape of mobile telecommunications in Mexico could change drastically. Telcel would remain the dominant operator, while other players such as Virgin Mobile, Bait (Walmart’s mobile brand), and other Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) could step in to fill the void.
In 2023, Virgin Mobile ranked as the third-largest MVNO in Mexico with a 7.78% share in that segment. Bait, on the other hand, consolidated its position as the undisputed leader. These companies —which don’t own their own infrastructure but provide mobile services through third-party networks (like Altán)— could benefit significantly from a reconfigured ecosystem following the exit of traditional operators.
