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| NIHD > SEC Filings for NIHD > Form 10-K/A on 19-Nov-2012 | All Recent SEC Filings |
19-Nov-2012
Annual Report
INDEX TO MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Forward Looking Statements 37
Introduction 38
A. Executive Overview 38
B. Results of Operations 46
1. Year Ended December 31, 2011 vs. Year Ended December 31, 2010 47
a. Consolidated 47
b. Nextel Brazil 50
c. Nextel Mexico 52
d. Nextel Argentina 53
e. Nextel Peru 54
f. Corporate and other 55
2. Year Ended December 31, 2010 vs. Year Ended December 31, 2009 56
a. Consolidated 56
b. Nextel Brazil 58
c. Nextel Mexico 59
d. Nextel Argentina 60
e. Nextel Peru 61
f. Corporate and other 62
C. Liquidity and Capital Resources 62
D. Future Capital Needs and Resources 63
E. Effect of Inflation and Foreign Currency Exchange 68
F. Effect of New Accounting Standards 68
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Forward-Looking Statements
We include certain estimates, projections and other forward-looking statements
in our annual, quarterly and current reports, as well as in other publicly
available material. Statements regarding expectations, including forecasts
regarding operating results and performance assumptions and estimates relating
to capital requirements, as well as other statements that are not historical
facts, are forward-looking statements.
These statements reflect management's judgments based on currently available
information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking
statements. With respect to these forward-looking statements, management has
made assumptions regarding, among other things, customer and network usage,
customer growth and retention, pricing, operating costs, the timing of various
events, the economic and regulatory environment and the foreign currency
exchange rates of currencies in the countries in which our operating companies
conduct business relative to the U.S. dollar.
Future performance cannot be assured. Actual results may differ materially from
those in the forward-looking statements. Some factors that could cause actual
results to differ include:
• our ability to attract and retain customers;
• our ability to meet the operating goals established by our business plan;
• general economic conditions in the United States or in Latin America and in the market segments that we are targeting for our services, including the impact of the current uncertainties in global economic conditions;
• the political and social conditions in the countries in which we operate, including political instability, which may affect the economies of our markets and the regulatory schemes in these countries;
• the impact of foreign currency exchange rate volatility in our markets when compared to the U.S. dollar and related currency depreciation in countries in which our operating companies conduct business;
• our ability to access sufficient debt or equity capital to meet any future operating and financial needs;
• reasonable access to and the successful performance of the technology being deployed in our service areas, and improvements thereon, including technology deployed in connection with the introduction of digital two-way mobile data or internet connectivity services in our markets;
• the availability of adequate quantities of system infrastructure and subscriber equipment and components at reasonable pricing to meet our service deployment and marketing plans and customer demand;
• Motorola's ability and willingness to provide handsets and related equipment and software applications or to develop new technologies or features for us for use on our iDEN network, including the timely development and availability of new handsets with expanded applications and features;
• the risk of deploying new third generation networks, including the potential need for additional funding to support that deployment, the risk that new services supported by the new networks will not attract enough subscribers to support the related costs of deploying or operating the new networks, the need to significantly increase our employee base and the potential distraction of management;
• our ability to successfully scale our billing, collection, customer care and similar back-office operations to keep pace with customer growth, increased system usage rates and growth or to successfully deploy new systems that support those functions;
• the success of efforts to improve and satisfactorily address any issues relating to our network performance;
• future legislation or regulatory actions relating to our SMR services, other wireless communications services or telecommunications generally and the costs and/or potential customer impacts of compliance with regulatory mandates;
• the ability to achieve and maintain market penetration and average subscriber revenue levels sufficient to provide financial viability to our network business;
• the quality and price of similar or comparable wireless communications services offered or to be offered by our competitors, including providers of cellular services and personal communications services;
• market acceptance of our new service offerings;
• equipment failure, natural disasters, terrorist acts or other breaches of network or information technology security; and
• other risks and uncertainties described in this annual report on Form 10-K/A, including in Part I, Item 1A. "Risk Factors," and in our other reports filed with the SEC.
The words "may," "could," "estimate," "project," "forecast," "intend," "expect," "believe," "target," "plan," "providing guidance" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are found throughout this Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and elsewhere in this report. The reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this report. Except as otherwise provided by law, we are not obligated to publicly release any revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events after the date of this report, including unforeseen events.
Introduction
The following is a discussion and analysis of:
• our consolidated financial condition for the years ended December 31,
2011 and 2010 and our consolidated results of operations for the years
ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009; and
• significant factors which we believe could affect our prospective financial condition and results of operations.
We have restated our previously issued consolidated financial statements for the
years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 as set forth in this Annual Report
on Form 10-K/A. For additional information regarding this restatement, see Note
14 to our consolidated financial statements.
Historical results may not indicate future performance. See "Item 1A. - Risk
Factors" for risks and uncertainties that may impact our future performance.
We refer to our operating companies by the countries in which they operate, such
as Nextel Brazil, Nextel Mexico, Nextel Argentina, Nextel Peru and Nextel Chile.
A. Executive Overview
Business Overview
We provide wireless communication services under the NextelTM brand, primarily
targeted at meeting the needs of customers who use our services to improve the
productivity of their businesses and customers who make the individual decision
to use our service for both professional and personal needs. Our customers
generally value our broad set of value-added services, including our Nextel
Direct Connect® feature, and our high level of customer service. As we deploy
our third generation networks using wideband code division multiple access, or
WCDMA, technology in our markets, we plan to extend our target market to include
additional business customers and high-value consumers who exhibit above average
usage, revenue and loyalty characteristics and who we believe will be attracted
to the services supported by our new networks and the quality of our customer
service.
We provide our services through operating companies located in selected
Latin American markets, with our principal operations located in major business
centers and related transportation corridors of Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru
and Chile. We provide our services in major urban and suburban centers with high
population densities where we believe there is a concentration of the country's
business users and economic activity. We believe that the growing economic base,
increase in the middle and upper classes, lower wireline service penetration and
the expanded coverage of wireless networks in these business centers encourage
the use of the mobile wireless communications services that we offer and plan to
offer in the future. Our new WCDMA-based networks are expected to serve these
major business centers and a broader geographic area in order to reach more
potential customers and to meet the requirements of our spectrum licenses.
Our original networks utilize integrated digital enhanced network, or iDEN,
technology developed by Motorola, Inc. to provide our mobile services on our
800 MHz spectrum holdings in all of our markets. Our current and planned third
generation networks will utilize WCDMA technology, which is a standards-based
technology that is being deployed by carriers throughout the world. These
technologies allow us to use our spectrum efficiently and offer multiple
wireless services integrated into a variety of handset and data devices.
The services we currently offer include:
• mobile telephone service;
• Nextel Direct Connect® and International Direct Connect® service, which allows subscribers to talk to each other instantly, on a "push-to-talk" basis, for private one-to-one calls or group calls;
• value-added services, including text messaging services; mobile internet services; e-mail services; location-based services, which include the use of Global Positioning System, or GPS, technologies; digital media services; and a wide ranging set of applications available via our content management system, as well as the Android open application market;
• business solutions, such as security, work force management, logistics support and other applications that help our business customers improve their productivity; and
• international roaming services.
We commercially launched our new WCDMA-based network in Peru in 2010 and are
currently in the process of designing and building new WCDMA networks in Brazil,
Chile and Mexico. We expect to begin offering services supported by these new
networks in 2012.
Our goal is to generate increased revenues and grow our subscriber base by
providing differentiated wireless communications services that are valued by our
customers while improving our profitability and cash flow over the long term.
Our strategy for achieving this goal is based on several core principles,
including:
• focusing on higher value customer segments such as segments that comprise
the small, medium and large business markets, as well as certain targeted
consumer market segments that value our differentiated wireless
communications services;
• offering a broad array of differentiated services and devices that build upon and complement our Nextel Direct Connect® service, the long range walkie-talkie service that allows instantaneous communication at the touch of a button;
• building on the strength of the unique positioning of the Nextel brand;
• capitalizing on the effectiveness and efficiency of our focused and dedicated distribution channels; and
• offering a superior customer experience.
In pursuit of this goal, we will expand our distribution and service channels to
create more accessible and efficient ways for our customers to purchase our
services and utilize our customer support teams.
We may also explore financially attractive opportunities to expand our network
coverage in areas that we do not currently serve or plan to serve, for example
by participating in the spectrum auction that is expected to be conducted in
Argentina in 2012.
We believe that the wireless communications industry in the markets in which we
operate has been and will continue to be highly competitive on the basis of
price, the types of services offered, the diversity of handsets offered, speed
of data access and the quality of service. In each of our markets, we compete
with at least two large, well-capitalized competitors with substantial financial
and other resources. Our competitors typically have more extensive distribution
channels than ours or are able to use their scale advantages to acquire
subscribers at a lower cost than we can, and most of them have implemented
network technology upgrades that support high speed internet access and video
telephony services. Some of these competitors also have the ability to offer
bundled telecommunications services that include local, long distance,
subscription television and data services, and can offer a larger variety of
handsets with a wide range of prices, brands and features. In addition, the
financial strength and operating scale of some of these competitors allows them
to offer aggressive pricing plans, including those targeted at attracting our
existing customers.
We compete with other communications service providers, including other wireless
communications companies and wireline telephone companies, based primarily on
our high quality customer service and differentiated wireless service offerings
and products, including our Direct Connect services that make it easier for our
customers to communicate quickly and efficiently. Historically, our largest
competitors have focused their marketing efforts on customers in the mass market
retail and consumer segments who purchase services largely on the basis of price
rather than quality of service, but recently those competitors have placed more
emphasis on attracting postpaid customers within our target segments, which are
considered the premium customer segments in our markets because they typically
generate higher average monthly revenue per subscriber. Although competitive
pricing of services and the variety and pricing of handsets are often important
factors in a customer's decision making process, we believe that the users who
primarily make up our targeted customer base are also likely to base their
purchase decisions on quality of service and customer support, as well as on the
availability of differentiated features and services, like our Direct Connect
services, that make it easier for them to communicate quickly, efficiently and
economically.
We have implemented a strategy that we believe will position us to achieve our
long-term goal of generating profitable growth. Some of the key components of
that strategy are as follows:
Targeting High Value Customers. Our main focus is on high value customer
segments such as segments that comprise the small, medium and large business
markets, as well as certain targeted consumer market segments that value our
differentiated wireless communications services, including our Direct Connect
feature and our high level of customer service. As we deploy our planned
WCDMA-based networks, we plan to extend our target market to additional
corporate customers and high-value consumers who exhibit above average usage,
revenue and loyalty characteristics and who we believe will be attracted to the
services supported by our new networks and the quality of our customer service.
Providing Differentiated Services. We differentiate ourselves from our
competitors by offering unique services like our "push-to-talk" service, which
we refer to as Direct Connect. This service, which is available throughout our
service areas, provides significant value to our customers by allowing
instantaneous communication at the touch of a button and the ability to
communicate on a one-to-many basis. In 2011, we launched Direct Connect services
utilizing our new WCDMA network in Peru as part of our effort to maintain this
key point of differentiation as we offer services on our new networks. Our
competitors have introduced competitive push-to-talk over cellular products, and
while we do not believe that these services offer the same level of performance
as our Direct Connect service in terms of latency, quality, reliability or ease
of use, our competitors could deploy new or upgraded technologies in their
networks that could enable them to implement new features and services that
compete more effectively with our Direct Connect service. We add further value
by designing customized business solutions that enhance the productivity of our
customers based on their individualized business needs. These business solutions
include fleet and workforce management services that utilize the unique
capabilities of our data network, such as vehicle and delivery tracking, GPS
technology, order entry processing and workforce monitoring applications.
Building on the Strength of the Nextel Brand. Since 2002, we have offered
services under the Nextel brand. As a result of our efforts, the Nextel brand is
recognized across our markets as standing for both quality of service and the
differentiated services and customer support we provide. This positioning of our
brand allowed us to successfully build our subscriber base of high value
customers who are attracted to our differentiated services and our reputation
for providing a high quality customer experience. To expand the value of that
positioning, in 2011 we launched a new brand identity in each of our markets and
at the corporate level, which we believe will enhance the recognition of our
brand and unify our brand identity across our markets as we seek to expand our
target market to include new customer segments.
Capitalizing on our Distribution Channels. We use a variety of distribution
channels that include direct sales representatives, indirect sales agents,
retail stores and kiosks, and other customer-convenient sales channels such as
online purchasing, and we are targeting those channels at specific customer
segments to deliver our service more efficiently and economically. Our direct
sales channel primarily focuses on businesses that value our industry expertise
and differentiated services, including our ability to design customized business
solutions that meet their specific business needs. As we extend our target
market to include more high-value consumers, we are expanding our distribution
channels to make our services more widely accessible. Our distribution channel
expansion will include more retail points-of-sales, or POS, including new Nextel
stores that will provide not only sales, but also serve as additional points of
customer care, collections and brand promotion. We are also expanding our other
customer-convenient channels, which include telesales and online channels, to
give our prospective and existing customers easier ways to purchase our
services. We are making these investments to more efficiently serve our
customers and improve the overall productivity of all of our distribution
channels, and we expect to see our average sales and related costs to acquire
customers decline over time.
Delivering a Superior Customer Experience. In addition to our unique service
offerings, we seek to further differentiate ourselves by providing a higher
level of customer service than our competitors. We work proactively with our
customers to match them with service plans that offer greater value based on the
customer's usage patterns. After analyzing customer usage and expense data, we
strive to minimize a customer's per minute costs while increasing overall usage
of our array of services, thereby providing higher value to our customers while
increasing our monthly revenues. This goal is also furthered by our efforts
during and after the sales process to educate customers about our services,
multi-function handsets and rate plans. We have also implemented proactive
customer retention programs in an effort to increase customer satisfaction and
retention. In addition, we are currently making investments to improve the
quality and scalability of our customer relationship management systems as part
of our ongoing effort to provide a simple, reliable and superior customer
service to our growing customer base.
Focusing on Major Business Centers. Because we target high value customers, our
operations have focused primarily on large urban markets, which have a
concentration of medium to high usage business customers and consumers and
account for a high proportion of total economic activity in each of their
respective countries. We believe these markets offer favorable long-term growth
prospects for our wireless communications services while offering the cost
benefits associated with providing services in more concentrated population
centers. Our new WCDMA-based networks are expected to serve both these major
business centers and a broader geographic area in order to reach more potential
customers and to meet the requirements of our spectrum licenses. We may also
consider selectively expanding into other Latin American countries where we do
not currently operate.
Deploying our New Networks. Another key component in our overall strategy is to continue to expand and improve the innovative and differentiated services we offer, which requires that we continue to invest in, evaluate and, if appropriate, deploy new services and enhancements to our existing services. To support this effort, we have acquired additional spectrum rights and are deploying our new WCDMA-based networks that will enable us to offer a wider variety of applications and services, particularly applications and services that are supported by high speed internet access. Use of the WCDMA technology will also increase our network capacity and will reduce the cost of supporting the services we offer when compared to second generation and other prior technologies. These new networks will allow us to continue to offer the differentiated services that our current customers rely on while using the new handsets and devices, service offerings, applications and pricing plans made possible by the new networks to target an expanded customer base.
During 2009 and 2010, we participated in spectrum auctions in Chile, Mexico and
Brazil in order to acquire spectrum required to support our planned next
generation networks. We began offering services on our new network in Peru in
2010 and are currently in the process of building our WCDMA-based networks in
Brazil, Chile and Mexico using spectrum licensed to us. We plan to begin
offering services supported by these networks in Brazil, Mexico and Chile in
2012. In addition, the Argentine government has announced plans to hold an
auction of spectrum that would support a next generation network in 2012, and we
have notified the government of our interest in participating in this auction.
The following chart details our current material next generation spectrum
holdings in each of our markets.
Country Spectrum Band Amount/Coverage
Brazil 1.9 GHz/2.1 GHz 20 MHz in 11 of 13 regions (includes all
major metropolitan areas)
Mexico 1.7 GHz/2.1 GHz 30 MHz nationwide
Peru 1.9 GHz 35 MHz nationwide
Chile 1.7 GHz/2.1 GHz 60 MHz nationwide
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In the future, we expect to pursue opportunities to acquire additional next
generation spectrum in our current markets and may consider acquiring spectrum
in new markets in appropriate circumstances. Our decision whether to acquire
rights to use additional spectrum would likely be affected by a number of
factors, including the spectrum bands available for purchase, the expected cost
of acquiring that spectrum and the availability and terms of any financing that
we would be required to raise in order to acquire the spectrum and build the
networks that will provide services that use that spectrum.
Additionally, we have significant spectrum holdings in the 800 MHz specialized
mobile radio, or SMR, spectrum band that support our iDEN networks. Our 800 MHz
holdings in each of our markets are as follows:
Country Amount/Coverage (1) Brazil 15 MHz nationwide weighted average Mexico 20 MHz nationwide weighted average Argentina 20 - 22 MHz nationwide weighted average Peru 22 MHz nationwide weighted average Chile 15 MHz nationwide weighted average _______________________________________ |
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