Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Top 10 Richest People in the World

This list of the 10 wealthiest people is a list of the world's 10 wealthiest people as of February 11, 2008, based on each person's total net worth. The total net worth is an estimate measured in United States dollars, based on the closing stock prices of the stock exchanges on which each person's company is listed, and exchange rates on February 11, 2008. Stock prices are defined as shares of ownership in a corporation, and exchange rates are defined as how much one currency is worth in terms of another. This list only represents each person's valuation on a single day due to daily fluctuations among exchange rates and stock valuations. The list does not include heads of state whose wealth is tied to their position (see list of heads of government and state by net worth).
  1. Warren Buffett (US)
  2. Carlos Slim (Mexico)
  3. Bill Gates (US)
  4. Lakshmi Mittal (India)
  5. Mukesh Ambani (India)
  6. Anil Ambani (India)
  7. Ingvar Kamprad (Sweden)
  8. KP Singh (India)
  9. Oleg Deripaska (Russia)
  10. Karl Albrecht (Germany)

Sunday, October 19, 2008

América Móvil

América Móvil (NYSE: AMX, BMV: AMX, NASDAQ: AMOV) is the fifth largest mobile network operator and the largest corporation in Latin America, and a Fortune 500 company. It is a Mexican publicly traded wireless communications company and provides services to over 152 million wireless subscribers in the Americas, primarily in Latin America and the Caribbean as of March 2007. The company has been a venture of Carlos Slim Helú, who was the richest person in the world on 2007 according to Mexican financial wealth with an estimated fortune of US$67.8 billion.[1] It was ranked the number 1 Information Technology company in 2005 by the Business Week magazine [2].

The company's world headquarters are located in Mexico City, Mexico. Its Mexican subsidiary Telcel is the largest mobile operator in Mexico, commanding a market share in excess of 80 per cent. In the United States, it operates under the trademark TracFone, and claims to be the leading national pre-paid wireless service. Trademarks elsewhere include Claro in Brazil, Chile, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay and Puerto Rico; Comcel Colombia in Colombia; and Porta in Ecuador

América Móvil acquired 100 percent of Jamaican mobile operator Oceanic Digital, under the brand name MiPhone in August 2007. [3], On November 15, 2005, the company signed an international pact with Vodafone to jointly deliver various international services.

América Móvil Global Wireless Customers

As of December 2007 [4],

  • Flag of Mexico México / Telcel 50.011 million
  • Flag of Brazil Brazil / Claro 30.228 million
  • Flag of Colombia Colombia / Comcel Colombia 22.335 million
  • Flag of Argentina Argentina / Claro 12.927 million
  • Flag of Paraguay Paraguay Flag of Uruguay Uruguay / Claro 9.618 million
  • Flag of the United States United States Includes Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands / TracFone Wireless 9.514 million
  • Flag of Guatemala Guatemala Flag of Nicaragua Nicaragua Flag of El Salvador El Salvador Flag of Honduras Honduras / Central America Claro 8.157 million
  • Flag of Ecuador Ecuador / Porta 9.648 million
  • Flag of Peru Perú / Claro 5.455 million
  • Flag of Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Flag of the Dominican Republic Dominican Republic Flag of Jamaica Jamaica / Caribbean Claro 3.496 million
  • Flag of Chile Chile / Claro 2.672 million
  • Global Wireless Customers 153.422 million

América Móvil Wireless Technology by Country

South America

  • Flag of Argentina CDMA (800/1900MHZ), GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/1900MHZ), UMTS/HSDPA (850/1900MHZ) first UMTS live by América Móvil
  • Flag of Brazil TDMA (800MHZ), GSM/GPRS/EDGE (900/1800MHZ), UMTS/HSDPA (850/2100MHZ)
  • Flag of Colombia TDMA (800MHZ), GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/1900MHZ), UMTS/HSDPA (850MHZ soon 1900)
  • Flag of Ecuador TDMA (800MHZ), GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850MHZ soon 1900), UMTS/HSDPA (850MHZ soon 1900)
  • Flag of Peru GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/1900MHZ), UMTS/HSDPA (850MHZ soon 1900)
  • Flag of Chile CDMA (1900MHZ), GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/1900MHZ), UMTS/HSDPA (850MHZ soon 1900)
  • Flag of Paraguay GSM/GPRS/EDGE (1900MHZ), UMTS/HSDPA (1900MHZ)
  • Flag of Uruguay GSM/GPRS/EDGE (1900MHZ), UMTS/HSDPA (1900MHZ)

Caribbean

  • Flag of Puerto Rico CDMA (800/1900MHZ), GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/1900MHZ), UMTS/HSDPA (850MHZ soon 1900)
  • Flag of the Dominican Republic CDMA (800/1900MHZ), GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/1900MHZ), UMTS/HSDPA (850MHZ soon 1900)
  • Flag of Jamaica CDMA (800MHZ), GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850MHZ), UMTS/HSDPA (850MHZ)

Central America

  • Flag of Guatemala CDMA (1900MHZ), GSM/GPRS/EDGE (900/1900MHZ), UMTS/HSPA (1900MHZ) first HSPA (High-Speed_Packet_Access) live by América Móvil
  • Flag of El Salvador GSM/GPRS/EDGE (1900MHZ), UMTS/HSDPA (1900MHZ)
  • Flag of Honduras GSM/GPRS/EDGE (1900MHZ), UMTS/HSDPA (1900MHZ)
  • Flag of Nicaragua GSM/GPRS/EDGE (1900MHZ), UMTS/HSDPA (850MHZ)

North America

  • Flag of the United States United States CDMA (800/1900MHZ), GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/1900MHZ)
  • Flag of Mexico Mexico TDMA (800MHZ), GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/1900MHZ), UMTS/HSDPA (850MHZ soon 1900)

Telcel

Telcel is Mexico's largest mobile phone carrier, owned by América Móvil. Founded in 1989 and based in Mexico City, Telcel is the leading provider of wireless communications services in Mexico. As of December 31, 2006, Telcel’s cellular network covered more than 63% of the geographical area of Mexico, including all major cities, and 90% of Mexico’s population. Telcel holds concessions to operate a wireless network in all nine geographic regions in Mexico using both the 800 megahertz and 1900 megahertz radio spectrums. As of December 31, 2007, Telcel had approximately over 57 million cellular subscribers and, according to Cofetel, as of July 2008, an approximately 77.2% share of the Mexican wireless market. They Also sponser the Cruz Azul Football team in Mexico.

Voice services

Telcel offers voice services under a variety of rate plans to meet the needs of different user segments. The rate plans are either postpaid, where the customer is billed monthly for the previous month, or prepaid, where the customer pays in advance for a specified volume of use over a specified period. Telcel believes the prepaid market represents a large and growing under-penetrated market in Mexico.

Telcel also offers several prepaid plans, none of which includes activation or monthly charges. Prepaid customers purchase a prepaid card for a specific amount of airtime and also receive additional services such as voicemail and caller ID. As part of its prepaid service offering, Telcel provides new customers with an Amigo Kit, which includes airtime, a handset, a charger and other accessories.

Prepaid customers are often unwilling to make a fixed financial commitment or do not have the credit profile to purchase postpaid plans. Prepaid plans serve the needs of distinct consumer segments such as the youth market, families, customers with variable income who otherwise would not be able to obtain service due to their credit profile, and customers who prefer to pay in cash. Prepaid customers also include parents who wish to control costs for their children.

Push-to-Talk Services

In 2004, Telcel began to offer push-to-talk services over its GSM network, though the main Push-to-talk provider in Mexico, as well as in other countries, is NEXTEL.

Data services

In January 2002, Telcel began to offer two-way SMS to its customers. Telcel began to offer MMS through GSM technology to postpaid and prepaid customers in March 2003. Since December 2004, postpaid and prepaid customers may send and receive short messages to and from users of networks in the United States and more recently to and from 34 other countries. In April 2002, Telcel became the first Mexican operator to offer premium information services through its SMS capabilities, including weather reports, financial quotes, entertainment news and even had relationships with the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Football League (NFL) of the United States.

Ideas Telcel

Through the Ideas Telcel portal, Telcel offers its customers mobile entertainment services, including SMS, MMS, e-mail, news and personalized downloads, such as ringtones, screensavers, text and video games, wallpapers, and interactive forums. In May 2006, Telcel launched TV content services which allow certain customers to access news, cartoon, documentary and sports channels through their handsets.

Internet

Wireless application protocol, or “WAP”, is a global standard designed to make Internet services available to mobile telephone users. Telcel offers WAP including e-mail, data and information services and electronic commerce transactions. Telcel launched its WAP gateway in September 2000, enabling its prepaid and postpaid users in those regions to access e-mail, banking, and a variety of reservation and other types of electronic commerce services.

Oficina Móvil Telcel

"Oficina Móvil" allows Telcel customers to access e-mail and personal information management tools, such as calendars and address books, through their handsets. Through strategic alliances with companies such as Research in Motion, Palm and Microsoft they offer customers products like the BlackBerry, the Treo and Windows Mobile handsets which Telcel customers use to manage multiple e-mail accounts, review and edit e-mail attachments and surf the web. Telcel also offers data coverage in Mexico and other countries where they have roaming agreements using GPRS, EDGE and recently UMTS / HSDPA celular technology in most places.

[edit] Roaming

Telcel offers international roaming services to its subscribers. Subscribers paying the international roaming fees are able to roam outside of Mexico, using the networks of cellular service providers with which Telcel has entered into roaming agreements. Telcel has entered into approximately 385 such agreements covering GSM and TDMA[1] networks around the world. Telcel offers international roaming services including special rates to subscribers roaming in the U.S. border, the U.S., Canada and other markets.

Marketing

Telcel develops customer and brand awareness through its marketing and promotion efforts and customer service. It advertises aggressively. Telcel sponsors a NASCAR Busch Series race, the Telcel-Motorola 200 every year as well as professional tennis Abierto Mexicano TELCEL, golf tournaments, soccer, and other events in Mexico. In addition, Telcel employs concentrated advertising efforts to promote specific products and services such as the Amigo Kit.

Sales and Distribution

Telcel markets its wireless services primarily through exclusive distributors located throughout Mexico. As of March 31, 2007, Telcel had relationships with a network of approximately 1,171 exclusive distributors, who sell Telcel’s services and products through approximately 48,320 points of sale and receive commissions.

Telcel also distributes prepaid cards and handsets, the latter as part of the Telcel Amigo Kit consisting of handsets and free airtime ranging from 25 to 250 minutes, through distributors that include Telmex, Sears, Sanborns and its network of retail outlets. It is estimated that, as of March 31, 2007, prepaid cards are available through approximately 150,000 points of sale in Mexico.

Telcel sells prepaid airtime principally through the sale of cards. Telcel has made arrangements in the United States to allow for the purchase of airtime for Telcel postpaid and prepaid phone subscribers in Mexico. Money is applied at merchant retail locations in the United States, dollars get converted to pesos at the current exchange rate, and the airtime is applied immediately to the handset in Mexico. The Telcel subscriber will receive an SMS message alerting them of the added airtime. This process has been known to be called value transfer system. Companies like Global Payment Solutions (GPS) have been leading the distribution of this value-transfer model in the United States.

The most recent marketing strategy is mainly promoted in TV and movie theaters, the slogan they use is "I'm Telcel as do millions of other Mexicans"

Customer Service

Approximately 55% of Telcel’s employees are dedicated to customer service.

3G Technology

Telcel officially launched its 3G services on February 25, 2008 initially in the cities of: Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Mérida, León, Morelia, Monterrey, Tijuana, Puebla, Querétaro and México D.F.. This is the 2nd 3G Wireless Network after Iusacell 3G Nationwide CDMA2000 network, and then expanding to other cities to finally become a national 3G network which will reach more than 350 cities.

With this technology, the company's users now can have high speed internet , video calls, television and other media options in their phones including the postpaid and prepaid customers.

Telcel is the exclusive carrier of the Apple iPhone 3G in Mexico.

Telmex

Teléfonos de México S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: TMX), better known as Telmex, is a Mexican telecommunications company that provides telecommunication products and services in Mexico and in many parts of Latin America, such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and even in the United States. In addition to traditional fixed-line telephone service, Telmex also offers Internet access, data, hosted services and IPTV.

History

A Telmex retail store

A Telmex retail store

Telmex was founded in 1947 when a group of Mexican investors bought Swedish Ericsson's Mexican branch. In 1950 the same investors bought the Mexican branch of the ITT Corporation thus becoming the only telephone provider in the country. In 1972 the Mexican government bought the company, turning it into a government monopoly. From 1972 to until its privatization in 1990, Telmex invested little in the country's infrastructure. As a result, it was all but impossible to procure a phone line to one's home.

In 1990, president Carlos Salinas de Gortari decided to sell many state owned companies, with a view towards improving infrastructure and services. Telmex was sold to a group of investors formed principally by Carlos Slim, France Télécom, & Southwestern Bell Corporation, whose tender was the largest. However, controversially, the payment itself took place over the course of the next several years, using money earned by the phone service.

After privatization, Telmex began investing in new modern infrastructure, creating a nationwide fiber optic network, thus offering service to most of the country.

In 1991, the Mexican government sold its remaining stock in Telmex.

Although Telmex is now a private company it stills remains as a quasi-monopoly. There are few other telephone companies in Mexico, Alestra (formerly AT&T, Axtel, Maxcom, Megacable and Cablecom. Telmex is the 2nd most complained-about provider in PROFECO (Mexico's Consumer Commission).

Telmex Cellphone Mobile Unit

A Telmex pay phone

A Telmex pay phone

In the 1990s mobile telephones were becoming popular among the general population. The early market leader was Iusacell, and Telmex had no presence in the market. This prompted Telmex to form a subsidiary to provide mobile communications. The subsidiary was Radio Móvil Dipsa, and offered service under the brand Telcel. Telcel started out in a distant second place in its mobile market, but in 1995 everything changed, when the Mexican Currency Crisis hit many Mexicans hard. Iusacell decided to stay with rich customers, offering expensive plans, whereas Telcel began to offer the first prepaid mobile phone plans. Although, in effect, just as expensive as the contracts offered by Iusacell, the success of its prepaid plans ultimately provided Telcel the growth needed to become the leader in the mobile market within two years.

In 2000, Telmex spun off their mobile unit, creating América Móvil, which controls Radio Móvil Dipsa and would be free to develop as its own business as an independent entity. It started with 80% of the mobile market. Many people incorrectly continue to believe that América Móvil is part of Telmex. Instead, both are sister companies under parent Carso Global Telecom. Carso Global Telecom is itself a sister conglomerate of Grupo Carso.

Internet

In the mid-1990s Telmex began providing Internet access as an Internet Service Provider with the brand Uninet. A year later, they changed the brand to Telmex Internet Directo Personal (Telmex Direct Personal Internet). In 1996, Telmex' owner, Carlos Slim, bought Prodigy Communications and took the brand to Mexico, renaming the service Prodigy Internet de Telmex. Thanks to their national coverage, Telmex rapidly became the leading national ISP. As of 2005, Telmex holds more than 80% of the market as ISP, and is also the leader in broadband access with its brand Prodigy Infinitum (ADSL).

In 2001, Telmex sold the U.S. branch Prodigy Communications to SBC, which was dubbed SBC Prodigy. However, Telmex continues to own and operate Prodigy in Mexico.

In 2004 Telmex claimed that the number of users of Prodigy Internet grew by 190%.

In 2008 Telmex started to offer IPTV (TV via IP Protocol).

Long Distance Competition

In the mid 1990s, AT&T and WorldCom (MCI), among others, began operating in Mexico, representing for the first time serious competition to Telmex. However, due to Telmex's incumbent monopoly position and well-developed infrastructure and coverage, none of them were believed to pose much threat to Telmex.

Expansion

After spinning off América Móvil, Telmex started an expansion plan, which started with the purchase of Guatemala's Telgua. Later, Telmex bought former state owned phone companies in Central America, and began operations in the USA with Telmex USA.

Telmex International Network

Telmex International Network

In 2004, Telmex went into a shopping spree for undervalued operators in South America, including the purchase of AT&T's Latin American operations, giving it presence in Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, and increased reach in the United States. In the same year, Telmex bought from MCI Brazil's largest and most important long distance operator, Embratel, acquired Chile's Chilesat, took control of Argentina's Techtel (operating in Argentina and Uruguay), of which it already owned 60%, by purchasing the remaining 40% from the Techint group, and purchased Argentina's Metrored. In the USA, Telmex bought 13.4% of bankrupt MCI.

At the same time, sister company America Movil pursued a similar strategy by acquiring cellular operators CTI Movil in Argentina and Uruguay, Claro in Brasil and Perú, Porta in Ecuador and Comcel in Colombia.

In 2005, Telmex sold its holdings in MCI to Verizon.

As of January 2006, Telmex continues buying assets in Latin America and in the USA.

As of March 2006, there were rumors of Telmex was buying Verizon operations in Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. The reports said that the operation can include the wireless operation on each market. The total amount of this sell is estimated nearly $300 usd millions. In January 2007 America Movil bought the Verizon operations in Puerto Rico, and days later Telmex and America Movil announced that their equally-owned joint venture had agreed with Verizon Communications Inc. (“Verizon”) to terminate the joint venture’s agreement to acquire Verizon’s indirect equity interests in Compañía Anónima Nacional Teléfonos de Venezuela (CANTV); subsequently, all of Verizon's holdings in CANTV were acquired in May 2007 by the Venezuelan government, reaching 86.2% of its total shares.

In December 2006 Telmex announces agreement to acquire TV CABLE and CABLE PACIFICO in Colombia. TV Cable offers cable TV , Internet and Voice over IP services and has been in operation for 20 years. Currently, the company serves 164,000 homes in Bogotá and Cali. Cable Pacifico serves 9 States and its main operation is in Medellín. To date, Cable Pacifico has approximately 100,000 subscribers.

Telmex Satellite Network

Telmex Satellite Network

In January 2007, Telmex launched Prodigy Media, the first step to offer triple play services to the Mexican market. Days later Telmex started the first Wi-Max network in Chile offering local, long distance and internet services to the 98% of the Chilean population.

In March 2007, Telmex bought Ecutel in Ecuador a small telecommunications company that offers services to the Corporate market.

In April 2007, Telmex announces agreement to acquire CABLECENTRO and SATELCARIBE in Colombia. CABLECENTRO offers cable TV and Internet access services and has been in operation for 7 years. Currently, the company operates in more than 50 cities in Colombia including Bogota, Cucuta, Bucaramanga, Ibague and Neiva, among others. SATELCARIBE offers cable TV and Internet access services and has been in operation for 7 years. Currently, the company operates in more than 15 cities in Colombia including Cartagena, Santa Marta, Valledupar, Sincelejo and Monteria.

Telmex also owns 3.41% of Portugal Telecom.

Corporate governance

Current members of the board of directors of Telmex are: Antonio Cosío Ariño, Ricardo Martín Bringas, Carlos Slim Domit, Marco Antonio Slim Domit, Carlos Slim Helú, Robert L. Henrichs, Emilio Azcárraga Jean, Laura Diez Barroso de Laviada, Elmer Franco Macías, Fernando Senderos Mestre, Rafael Kalach Mizrahi, Ángel Losada Moreno, Rómulo O´Farril Jr., Jaime Chico Pardo, Richard P. Resnick, Amparo Espinosa Rugarcía, Juan Antonio Pérez Simón, Rayford Wilkins, Jr.

Awards

Slim has been awarded the Entrepreneurial Merit Medal of Honor from Mexico's Chamber of Commerce. He is a "gold patron" of the American Academy of Achievement,[10] and the Belgian government awarded him the Leopold II Commander Meda, CEO of the year in 2003 by Latin Trade business magazine and one year later CEO of the decade by the same magazine.

In the year 2000, Slim organized the Fundación del Centro Histórico de la Ciudad de México A.C. (Mexico City Historic Downtown Foundation), whose objective is to revitalize and rescue Mexico City's historic downtown to enable more people to live, work and find entertainment in this area. He has been Chairman of the Executive Committee for the Restoration of the Historic Center since the year 2001. Additionally, as part of his philanthropic work, he heads the Latin America Development Fund project, and his foundations have more than 10 billion dollars budget for the next years.

Political life

Slim is well known for giving public speeches on Mexican economy and technological underdevelopment, recently pointing out how jobs for college graduates are nonexistent in Mexico, which causes brain drain and migration to other countries.

Impulsora del Desarrollo y el Empleo

He leads Impulsora del Desarrollo y el Empleo en America Latina SAB de CV (IDEAL) It is a Mexico-based company primarily engaged in the infrastructure development. IDEAL is mainly active in six sectors, which are: Transportation, Crude Oil and Gas, Power, Water, Real Estate and Technology. Within the sectors the Company is the concessionaire of the highways, hydroelectric plants projects, electronic toll collection systems and ports. It is also engaged in the exploration, production, transport, refinement and distribution of crude oil and gas mainly through offshore oil platforms for deep waters. Additionally, it is engaged in the construction and operations of water treatment plants, investments and development of the urban and rural properties, primarily in the commercial, health and education sectors. The Company’s main subsidiaries are: Desarollo de America Latina SA de CV and Promotora del Desarollo de America Latina SA de CV.