Mexico’s Telecom Sector Faces Uncertainty After Govt Move to Clip Wings of Regulators
• 5G adoption in Mexico, while being better than most of the LATAM countries, is lower compared to most of other regions.
• Misalignment between Mexico’s telecom regulator IFT and the secretary of treasury and public credit (SHPC) has caused elevated prices in previous spectrum (non-5G) auctions.
• A failed process in the dedicated 5G spectrum auction has slowed down Mexico’s 5G rollout.
• The recently elected Mexican president will propose a plan to merge 17 entities, including sector regulators and other bodies, with the government, thus curtailing their independence.
• As a result, IFT will become a part of the office of national secretary of infrastructure, communication and transport.
Mexico’s 5G smartphone segment is growing slowly, reaching 37% sales share of the country’s overall smartphone market in Q2 2024, according to Counterpoint’s Market Pulse report. Some of Mexico’s peers around the world have grown much faster and have a much bigger 5G smartphone penetration, such as China at 88%, India at 56% and South Korea at 77%.
Mexico is a telecom leader in LATAM, contributing to 25% of the region’s smartphone sales and 37% of its 5G smartphone sales in Q2 2024. 5G is expected to bring productivity improvements to the country, as well as boost the overall economy. But the rollout of this technology in Mexico has been severely hit by the failure to auction the required spectrum.
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Counterpoint research is a young and fast growing research firm covering analysis of the tech industry. Coverage areas are connected devices, digital consumer goods, software & applications and other adjacent topics. We provide syndicated research reports as well as tailored. Our seminars and workshops for companies and institutions are popular and available on demand. Consulting and customer
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