Megacable SA de CV, Mexicos second-largest cable company, received approval from national

Megacable SA de CV, Mexico`s second-largest cable company, received approval from national authorities recently to offer local telephone service in the country`s three largest cities: Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey. rcn International Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of c-tec Corp., owns 40% of Megacable through its rcn International subsidiary. Together, rcn and Megacable will offer what they claim to be the first local telephone alternative to Telmex, the formerly state-owned telephone monopoly. Megacable`s new Mexican telephone operation will be centered in Mexico City and will consist of a new local exchange network with nine advanced fiber-optic collector rings and a high-capacity fiber-optic backbone. The company plans to expand the service to Guadalajara, Monterrey, and other cities in which it has existing cable-TV operations. Megacable`s television system passes more than 600,000 homes in Mexico, more than 200,000 of which are located in Guadalajara. The company expects to begin offering service in the next six months.