The Zhitong Finance App learned that AT&T (T.US), one of the top three telecom operators in the US, announced on Tuesday EST that it will sell the Mexican business with about 24.7 million users to a consortium in which Televisa and Fintech each hold half interest. It is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2027, further focusing on the high speed connectivity needs of optical fiber, 5G and AI in the US.
According to some data, AT&T's Mexican business had an operating profit margin of only about 1.6% in 2025, and sales reflect the concentration of capital in the core market; buyers are expected to combine Televisa's fixed broadband with mobile business to increase retention and customer acquisition costs through package bundling. The value of the same asset to different operators ultimately depends on whether a network can be formed to collaborate with customers.
Shortly before AT&T's latest series of moves, SpaceX plans to acquire the entire US 800MHz low-frequency spectrum and accelerate the construction of a satellite and terrestrial integrated network, which has already hit the US telecommunications sector hard. Previously, on October 9, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile fell 9.8%, 8.7%, and 13.3%, respectively. The market is currently re-evaluating traditional operators' long-term pricing power and cash flow certainty.
AT&T can currently be described as concentrating capital to develop the US fiber-5G integrated network, undertaking the demand for high-capacity, low-latency, and reliable connectivity for AI applications, focusing on concentrating capital through the sale of overseas assets to meet the connectivity requirements brought by AI with fiber-5G integrated networks. The integrated network mentioned by AT&T mainly serves high-speed connections between users, enterprises, and the cloud, and also includes the integration of fixed broadband and mobile services in packages, customer management, and user experience; optical fiber and 5G convergence networks combine fixed optical fiber broadband with 5G high-speed mobile networks: optical fiber is responsible for high-capacity backbone transmission, base station backhaul, and home broadband, and 5G is responsible for wireless access to mobile phones and other terminals.
According to reports, SpaceX (SPCX.US), the “AI+ space exploration” leader founded by Musk and with a market value of more than 2 trillion US dollars, plans to heavily acquire the US national 800 MHz spectrum portfolio held by Grain Management, involving up to 14 MHz of paired spectrum, taking a key step towards becoming a complete mobile communication operator. The technical value of the latest acquisition plan is to promote the formation of a more complete Starlink network coverage system between the “Starlink” (Starlink) satellite Internet and terrestrial networks. Starlink's satellite network is good at covering remote areas and ground communication blind spots. The addition of low frequency spectrum helps improve penetrating connections, signal penetration capabilities and indoor coverage within buildings and complex shielded environments through ground system deployment. That is, satellite networks provide wide-area coverage and supplement blind spots on the ground, and low-frequency terrestrial networks improve connectivity within buildings and complex shielding environments, which complement each other.
AT&T further focuses on the US market and sells Mexican business to Televisa and Fintech for $2 billion
US telecom operator AT&T said on Tuesday that it has agreed to sell the Mexican business to a consortium formed by Mexican Televisa Group and Fintech Holdings for 2 billion US dollars in cash. The company is further focusing on optical fiber and 5G networks in the US, while increasing the strong layout of demand for AI high-speed connectivity.
AT&T said the deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, pending approval from Mexican regulators. Televisa said that as Mexico's second-largest mobile operator, this business had approximately 24.7 million users as of December 2025.
Televisa stated that the purchase price must be adjusted accordingly, with additional contractual rights and/or benefits; the transaction will be funded through existing cash and non-recourse secured debt financing.
Televisa and Fintech Holdings each hold 50% interest in the acquisition consortium.
Televisa is Mexico's largest radio and television group and the world's largest producer of Spanish-language content. Fintech is a private investment and holding company owned by Mexican billionaire David Martinez.
AT&T Chairman and CEO John Stankey said in a statement: “We have clearly expressed our firm belief that the future of AI will run on a converged network with dense fiber assets. This move allows AT&T Mexico operations to participate in this evolution.”
Televisa's shares on the New York Stock Exchange rose 5.3% after the news was announced on Tuesday; AT&T rose 1.6% to close at $22.85 on the same day.
The deal put an end to AT&T's expansion in Mexico. This process began with the acquisition of Iusacell in 2014 and included the acquisition of Nextel Mexico in 2015, with the goal of challenging Telcel, a subsidiary of American Telecom, which dominates the Mexican wireless market.
According to Televisa, AT&T's Mexico business had revenue of 85.4 billion pesos (US$4.65 billion) and operating profit of 1.4 billion pesos (US$76.3 million) in 2025.
Movistar, a subsidiary of Spanish telecom giant Telefónica, had withdrawn from the local market before AT&T sold its Mexican business. In April of this year, the company sold its Mexican business for 450 million US dollars to a consortium led by the US side, shifting its focus to the European core market.
Starlink leverages pricing power, optical fiber preserves capacity and cash flow
The major challenge posed by the satellite internet forces dominated by Starlink extends from supplementary coverage in remote areas to competition for complete communication packages. Wall Street financial institution William Blair anticipates that it may bundle broadband, mobile services, or even Grok to drive competition to customer entrances and revenue per household. The J.P. Morgan analyst team believes that the experience comparable to existing operators still requires terrestrial network construction, and short-term impact of capital and deployment time constraints. The two point in common is that stock prices can reflect competitive pressure ahead of time, while profit erosion depends on network delivery and user migration.
Combining existing satellite capacity, SpaceX is completing the capabilities needed to upgrade from an “occasional emergency connection” to a “mobile service for everyday use.” Grain's official announcement clearly targets the deal to integrate terrestrial and space connections; at the same time, the FCC has approved SpaceX to deploy a new 15,000 satellite constellation of direct-connected terminals, opening up space for mobile business expansion. Judging from the investment logic, the expansion of the coverage scenario is expected to enable Starlink to further compete with primary card users, home broadband, and enterprise communication budgets from auxiliary service providers. Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Citi, and TD Cowen are bullish on the long-term bullish market of SpaceX's stock price — near/short-term revenue jumps driven by terrestrial AI computing power leasing, and long-term growth space is being expanded by Starlink satellite connections, high-frequency launch capabilities, and space AI data centers and AI application businesses.
Judging from the network mechanism, wide area coverage is not equal to the continuous capacity of densely populated areas, and satellite networks are still limited by spectrum resources, building blocking, and ground coordination. Multi-modal AI and real-time interaction increase the demand for stable connections, uplink capacity, and low latency, and also make the integration of fiber and 5G more valuable. GIP and CPP Investments, a subsidiary of US asset management giant BlackRock, announced their participation in the AT&T optical fiber joint venture platform on October 6, emphasizing the demand for high-capacity connectivity and long-term digitization opportunities, showing that long-term capital still recognizes the investment value of traditional terrestrial telecommunication networks.
Penn Mutual Asset Management warned on October 12 that telecom giants are important issuers of investment-grade bonds, and new competitors with strong capital also deserve the attention of creditor investors. It can be clearly seen from this that the key to industry valuation is whether the new round of fierce competition for telecom operations initiated by Starlink will force operators to simultaneously reduce prices, increase capital expenditure, and reduce the free cash flow that debt repayment and dividends depend on. AT&T focuses on the core network, and its strategic intention is to improve capital efficiency and enhance the ability to generate sustainable cash.