Mexico's Chedraui supermarkets to offer cellphone services

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's third-largest supermarket Grupo Comercial Chedraui will enter the mobile phone business using Telefonica SA's network, Telefonica said on Wednesday. Chedraui signed a deal on Sept. 12 to become a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), offering mobile phone services using Telefonica's network, the company said in its quarterly report. Telefonica, which serves about 20 percent of Mexico's mobile customers, already has deals with Virgin Mobile, cable company Megacable and Maxcom to allow use of its network. Nevertheless, MVNOs - which do not own network infrastructure but instead rent it from rivals - still comprise a tiny portion of the Mexican mobile telecommunications market. A spokesman for Chedraui did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Christine Murray and Tomas Sarmiento; editing by G Crosse)