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Mexico Names New Telecommunications Commissioner



MEXICO CITY -(Dow Jones)- Mexican President Felipe Calderon appointed a new telecoms commissioner Wednesday, a week after the agency's president stepped down.

Communications and Transport Minister Juan Molinar said at a press conference that Mony de Swaan was named to the Federal Telecommunications Commission, or Cofetel.

De Swaan will join Cofetel after its former president, Hector Osuna, resigned for personal reasons after four years at the head of the commission.

Cofetel's five commissioners are responsible for electing a president from within their ranks, and SCT officials said an election could take place in coming weeks.

De Swaan has served since March 2009 as a top adviser to Molinar. Before that, he worked under Molinar at the Mexican Social Security Institute, after spending two years as an executive for Mexico and Central America at pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. (PFE).

Cofetel is responsible for regulating telecommunications in Mexico, where a handful of companies dominate fixed-line and mobile telephony and television broadcasting.

Telecoms policy is largely decided, however, by the communications and transport ministry SCT, which has the final say in most regulatory matters, such as issuing new licenses and auctioning wireless spectrum.

-By Paul Kiernan, Dow Jones Newswires; (5255)5980-5178, paul.kiernan@ dowjones.com