Catering to Mexico: AT&T expands network south of the border

AT&T is banking on dense wavelength division multiplexing to double its network capacity in Mexico.

The carrier is part owner of Alestra, the second-largest long-distance carrier in that country, which is deploying Lucent Technologies' OLS 80G 16-channel DWDM system.

"We have a good [amount] of traffic and we needed to expand the capacity. This will expand the capacity of our network from 20 to 40 Gb/s," an Alestra spokesman said.

The carrier's increased bandwidth demand stems from more voice and data traffic flowing over the cable.

"In terms of minutes on the network, [the U.S./Mexico link is] the second-largest after U.S. and Canada," the Alestra spokesman said. "In terms of dollars, we are the most valuable one in the world."

This, coupled with more lenient global guidelines, is driving U.S. carriers to seek networks across the Southern border.

Last week, Telmex, Mexico's largest carrier, announced a joint venture with Sprint. The venture, called Telmex-Sprint Communications, allows Telmex to resell Sprint service in the U.S. This week, TSC announced three new services targeting the Mexican-American market, including a personal toll-free number for U.S. customers who receive many collect calls from Mexico.

Alestra's expansion has nothing to do with that, the spokesman said. "Telmex-Sprint has to do with the American market. We are focused only on the Mexican market."

One analyst noted that the DWDM move fits Alestra's message. "They are marketing themselves as the high-technology, high-quality network [company]," said Juan Fernandez, research analyst at Frost & Sullivan. "This is consistent with that."

* Founded January 1996

* Opened for business January 1997

* 4400 kilometers of fiber miles connecting 20 cities

* Five CO switches

* 24 POPs in 24 cities

* Three metro rings around Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City