Fierce competition and changing rules.

LATIN AMERICA'S TELECOMMUNICATIONS MARKET:

IN MANY WAYS, Latin America's telecommunications market resembles the United States' wild, wild West of a century ago. Telecom equipment manufacturers, wireless phone companies, Internet service providers and satellite communications firms from throughout the world are scrambling to stake a claim in their chosen markets and protect their territory from competitors.

In Argentina, for example, BellSouth, GTE, Telefonica de Argentina and Telecom Argentina Stet-France Telecom are competing for the newly privatized long-distance market outside Buenos Aires. In Brazil, Alcatel, the French telecommunications manufacturer, recently won a US$121 million contract to build a 3,750-mile fiber-optic data transmission network connecting Brazil's largest cities. And Microsoft Corp. is launching a new Internet initiative with Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex) to deliver services to Spanish speakers throughout the Americas.

But as the global telecommunications players try to carve out their "homesteads" in Latin America, the laws and regulations governing the new privatized telecommunications market keep changing. In one highly publicized case, Brazil in October filed suit against the Brazilian unit of MCI Worldcom, seeking $550 million in back taxes and fines.

Throughout Latin America, manufacturers of telephones, modems, computers, and other equipment face a host of regulatory and compliance issues. Net Connection, a five-year-old company based in Los Angeles, processes international equipment makers' products through the maze of engineering, legal and administrative regulations imposed by each country's government.

"Any product that connects to a local telephone line or uses radio-frequency signals must be compliant with local regulations before it can be imported," says Richard Swarz, president. "If you want to sell in these countries, there are telecom, safety, packaging and labeling issues that must be addressed."

Swarz says telecom-related regulations are virtually doubling every year, making it more and more difficult for manufacturers to "learn the rules of the road." To process products for its clients, Net Connection has engineering and administrative teams in each country throughout the region, as well as associated law firms that explain the changing regulations.

"We are devoted to regulatory compliance in every one of the countries south of the U.S. border," says Swarz. "It's like getting a passport for your product. This is a dynamic, complicated field -- but it's something we do every day."