The Mexican government has officially announced an agreement to set up a telecommunications unit called ‘Internet para Todos’ (‘Internet for All’) with a view to bringing full internet coverage to all parts of the country, including underserved areas. In a publication in the country’s official gazette, the government said the non-profit company will be a subsidiary of state-owned utility CFE, albeit with its own legal personality and assets, and that a board of directors will be appointed on 15 October. It will use CFE’s wholesale fibre-optic network (Red Troncal) but no further details about the initiative were given, including whether or not the service will be free, when it will be launched or how the Red Troncal will be connected to homes.
The confirmation follows a series of pledges from Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to bring full internet coverage to all parts of the country, including warnings to current concession holders to “stand aside” if they cannot fulfil their obligations. In May, Mexico’s government announced a plan to increase internet coverage from the figure of 87 percent reached at the end of 2018 to 95 percent of the country before Lopez Obrador’s six-year term ends in 2024. Under the National Development Plan 2019-24, special emphasis will be given to digital divide areas so that all people, above all those in a vulnerable situation, can have access to new technologies and digital skills.
