Canitec, on the other hand, is the business representative body that brings together the concessionaires of public telecommunications networks (RPT) that provide cable television, internet and data transmission services in the Mexican Republic. It was founded in 1975 and in its beginnings it functioned as an association that brought together a group of entrepreneurs in this sector. Subsequently, it was decided to provide this organization with the legal status of industrial chamber. Today its mission is "to fight for the union and representation of industrialists in the field of cable telecommunications, as well as to promote through information and training, the growth of the industry, so that through the public telecommunications networks they manage, more and more subscribers can have access to the best options for entertainment, culture, information, education and value-added services."
At first it was boiling
How was the cable industry in 1995, when TV and Video first came out? This is how Burzaco recalls it: "Ten years ago, the industry was in full boil, as well as the entire world telecommunications market." In reference to Argentina, the top executive of ATVC explains that "in the country there was the consolidation of multiple operators, through the acquisition of cables in different cities. Even investment groups from abroad participated, thinking of replicating models of expansion of services that had occurred in England mainly, but also in the United States. " The latter country, Burzaco recalls, modified its regulatory framework for telecommunications a year later, in 1996.
The executive adds a fact no less: "It is noteworthy that at that time, Argentina was the third country in the world in terms of cable penetration in homes. There were more homes with cable than with basic telephone service (today it is still the case in many districts of the country). These particular conditions attracted the arrival of capital."
In Mexico, cable growth in 1995 did not reach the levels of Argentina, although in the general context of the country, it showed good health. Puente explains that "at that time, the country was going through difficult times, which was reflected in the growth of its subscriber base that, however, was increasing at a rate of 5% per year."
According to the data provided by the president of Canitec, in the year of the founding of TV and Video , the Mexican cable industry had 119 concessions distributed in the country, 1.25 million subscribers, 35,000 kilometers of network and coverage in 190 locations.
"There were also important changes, such as the entry into force of the Federal Telecommunications Law, an order to which companies in the world of cable television were subject." This law dates back to 1996 and stipulated that the concessions of cable television systems be replaced by concessions of public telecommunications networks, which allowed entrepreneurs in this sector, in addition to improving the quality of their signals, to provide a series of value-added services to their users.
But the economy in Latin America is fluctuating, and the boiling that was experienced in Argentina around 1995 tended to diminish from the recession and the crisis that affected that country during the last part of the nineties and the beginning of the new century. "The recession began in 1998 and became increasingly critical, ending in the well-known institutional and economic crisis of late 2001 and early 2002," burzaco points out. What happened to the industry during that period?: "In 1998 it reached a peak of subscribers, estimated at about 5.5 million, and with the influence of the factors reported plus a significant increase in the 'hanged' to the service [illegal connections], in mid-2002, the estimated figure was 4.5 million subscribers." However, Burzaco does not lose optimism: "Today we are recovering," he says.
Mexico experienced the opposite effect: from the lukewarmness of the beginning to an important growth. "If I have to indicate what changed from 1995 until now, I must say that everything," says Puente. The industry is now composed of 850 concessions, more than 3 million subscribers, has 80,000 kilometers of network and has coverage in 1800 locations. "After a period of recession, at the moment we register 10% annual growth," says the president of Canitec.
The same executive highlights, among the main changes, that "a procedure has been established in 2003 so that, just by giving notice, cable television concessionaires can provide internet service, a segment in which they have more than 350,000 subscribers. There is also the possibility that they can lease their infrastructure to telephone service concessionaires. Three networks would already be ready to start offering this service. Another important aspect has been the specific regulation that regulates the industry, the Regulation of the Restricted Television and Audio Service, published in 2000."
Looking ahead
"Change, everything changes," reads a well-known song. And the current challenges of the television industry are far from those that were established in that seemingly distant 1995. "The challenges at the time were to copy the model of multiple services that were being experienced in some small cities in the United States, reaching the home with internet, data transmission, pay per view, eventually telephony and other benefits. To do all this, it was necessary to update the networks and incorporate fiber optics to them, in an HFC construction structure with redundancy, "recalls Burzaco.
For Puente, for his part, "the main challenge was the modification of the concession titles so that they were subject to the new order (Federal Telecommunications Law). Before the entry into force of the law, concession titles were granted by the authority as cable television systems, and authorization to provide additional services such as the internet was simply very difficult. With this new figure, all technically feasible services can be provided, with the authorization of the authority sufficing, but in 1995 the procedure to be followed was not clear and there was no defined policy in this regard. "
To what extent have these challenges been overcome? In Argentina, part of the dream has been fulfilled: the networks have been updated and today have first-class technology. The other part is still pending: "The process of introducing new services, except the internet, was truncated by the economic debacle that affected the country and many of the large operators." In Mexico, it was commented, the law emerged a year later, so it can be said that the goal was achieved.
But the industry does not stop or live from the past. The new goals are already set and many stakeholders are working together to achieve them.
Puente affirms that "the convergence of services and networks that is taking place in the telecommunications sector forces the industry to offer more and better services and at competitive prices". The Mexican executive explains that "the provision of several services through the same network is helping more people to have access to the various telecommunications services. Cable television networks, by their nature, are broadband networks, which represents a great opportunity, since in the world the use of broadband grows at a rate of 70% per year."
Such convergence poses the main challenges ahead. "Although this industry offers, in various locations of the country, the internet service in addition to the originally authorized, one of the biggest challenges is to ensure that the authority allows the direct provision of telephone service, so that cable television concessionaires can offer television services, internet and telephony (triple play)," says Puente, and concludes: "We hope in a short time to be able to say that this industry is at the height of its peers in our main commercial partners."
Burzaco, for his part, states that "the challenges facing the industry today are the same as before, but with the certainty that the technologies we must implement have already been tested elsewhere, so investments are safer. For example, there is no longer talk of using some technologies to provide telephony over cable networks, which proved not to be the best, but the IP protocol has been successfully tested to provide this service. In addition, major carriers plan to digitize streaming on their networks to expand the variety of services they provide to customers."
Surely, the author of the tango "Volver", when writing that phrase that assures that "twenty years is nothing", did not imagine how vertiginous it would be, in the future, the business of cable television, which would make ten years a lot.
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