Subject: [NEXTEL-1] NII Hldgs Devotes Bulk Of '03 Investment To Mexico -CFO

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 09 May 2003 12:42:21 -0400

NII Hldgs Devotes Bulk Of '03 Investment To Mexico -CFO

By CHARLES ROTH

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

NEW YORK -- U.S. telecommunications firm NII Holdings Inc.
(NIHD), plans to put the lion's share of its investment budget this year
into Mexico, much as it did in 2002, the company's chief financial
officer said Thursday.

Byron Siliezar said NII Holdings, formerly known as Nextel
International, will invest about $200 million in its operating companies in
Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Peru.

In a telephone interview with Dow Jones Newswires, Siliezar noted
that about 68% of the company's capital investment went into Mexico
in 2002, and "a similar amount is to be invested in Mexico this year."

The country was NII's best performer last year, with Nextel Mexico
representing 41% of subscribers, 60% of revenues and 84% of
earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or
EBITDA.

Siliezar said the company is expanding its services in Mexico this year
into the states of Baja California, San Luis Potosi and Veracruz.

In Brazil, where the company has already invested "well over" $1
billion, it is "looking to make incremental investments."

On the other side of the continent, Chile "currently represents a
business development opportunity," Siliezar said, noting that the
company hopes to secure requisite operating approvals from local
authorities by the end of the year or early in 2004.

Generally, NII Holdings, he said, will focus on "profitable subscriber
growth" in corporate and business segments of the industry. In addition
to wireless services, it also offers numeric and text messaging, two-way
radio and Internet access services from a single handset.

That focus, he explained, allows the company to keep its average
revenue per unit, or ARPU, rate high and customer loss rate, or churn,
low at 2.6%.

Monthly EBITDA per subscriber in Mexico in the fourth quarter of last
year, he noted, was $15, compared to $1 to $6 among competitors.
These are the highest such metrics in the region, he added.

Across the region, the company currently has about 1.3 million
subscribers and expects to add about another 100,000 by the end of
this year.

Revenue, which climbed from $324 million in 2000 to $780 million last
year, are expected to hit $850 million in 2003. Current guidance forecasts EBITDA this
year of $200
million, though that could be adjusted upward if second-quarter performance is as strong
as the first
quarter.

The company, he added, also has a fully funded business plan. Its total debt has been
reduced from $2.8
billion to just under $500 million.

Its Nasdaq-traded stock finished down 5% at $32.30 Thursday, but was still up about 16% on
the
month.

-By Charles Roth, Dow Jones Newswires; 201 938 2226; [email-masked]

Updated May 8, 2003 7:13 p.m.

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/0,,BT_CO_20030508_010593,00.html?

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