MEXICO CITY, July 14 (Reuters) – Potential investors in a Mexico-wide mobile broadband network are turning their backs on the deal, increasing the risk that the ambitious project could collapse and send regulators back to the drawing board.

Mexico telecoms company MVS Comunicaciones said in April it had high-profile partners on board to help raise the $1 billion it estimated it would need to jump-start a shared national fourth-generation “broadband for all” network.

U.S. chip maker Intel (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) as well as wireless operator Clearwire (CLWR.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and local telecoms company Alestra were ready to contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to the project, Jose Abad, an MVS executive, said in April.

But Intel and Clearwire told Reuters this week that they have no plans to invest in the proposed broadband network that would give Latin America’s second-largest economy a boost.

“Intel is open to working with anyone to boost broadband in the country, however, for the moment, we do not have any plans to partner with MVS,” Elisa Martinez, a spokeswoman for Intel in Mexico, told Reuters in an email.

Clearwire said that the company has good relations with MVS but that it would not put any money to work in the broadband plan. An Alestra official said the company would like to be a partner but declined to say whether it would put up any cash.

A spokesman for MVS did not answer specific questions about the project’s financing and said that the matter could only be resolved once the government set the terms — and fees – required to renew the spectrum licenses.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – First they handed him a record fine. Then they denied him a television license. Now Mexican regulators are investigating whether business tycoon Carlos Slim has already snuck into the TV market by the back door.

Three years since Slim’s phone giant Telmex and satellite TV firm Dish Mexico formed a powerful alliance to offer a cut-rate television service, regulators are giving the deal a second look.

Telmex rivals have complained loudly for years that the partnership is improper and runs against rules that bar Slim’s company from putting a foot into the TV market. Now a Reuters investigation has discovered that the Mexican competition regulator is questioning whether the world’s richest man’s joint enterprise with Dish Mexico is legitimate.

Early on Tuesday, the agency said it was probing monopolistic practices among telecoms companies that bundle TV and phone services. It did not name any firm.

Mexico’s dominant TV broadcaster, Televisa, and its telephone and cable TV allies filed a 115-page complaint with the Federal Competition Commission (Cofeco) over Telmex’s involvement with Dish Mexico earlier this year. The country’s other leading TV broadcaster, TV Azteca, followed suit just weeks ago.

A Cofeco spokesman, told Reuters this month that it is investigating the Dish Mexico accusations. All the parties in Slim’s Dish Mexico deal declined requests to explain their financial ties, although clues can be found in the companies’ public statements.

For decades, Slim has had a dream run through Mexico’s corporate landscape, much of it under the radar as he gradually built the empire that ranges from telecoms giant America Movil to banking group Inbursa, restaurants and firms that make cigarettes, floor tiles and car parts.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – First they handed him a record fine. Then they denied him a television licence. Now Mexican regulators are investigating whether business tycoon Carlos Slim has already snuck into the TV market by the back door.

Three years since Slim’s phone giant Telmex (TELMEXL.MX: Quote, Profile, Research) (TMX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and satellite TV firm Dish Mexico formed a powerful alliance to offer a cut-rate television service, regulators are giving the deal a second look.

Telmex rivals have complained loudly for years that the partnership is improper and runs against rules that bar Slim’s company from putting a foot into the TV market.

Now a Reuters investigation has discovered that the Mexican competition regulator is questioning whether the world’s richest man’s joint enterprise with Dish Mexico is legitimate.

Early on Tuesday, the agency said it was probing monopolistic practices among telecoms companies that bundle TV and phone services. It did not name any firm. But Reuters has learned that Slim’s company is being looked at.

Mexico’s dominant TV broadcaster, Televisa (TLVACPO.MX: Quote, Profile, Research)(TV.N: Quote, Profile, Research), and its telephone and cable TV allies filed a 115-page complaint with the Federal Competition Commission (Cofeco) over Telmex’s involvement with Dish Mexico earlier this year.

The country’s other leading TV broadcaster, TV Azteca, TVAZTCACPO.MX followed suit just weeks ago.