Mexico. Infrastructure is the essential input for the operation of this sector based on nodes and networks. In the case of the telecommunications network, it is the poles, infrastructure elements on which the physical installation of the wiring depends for the provision of services to homes and companies in the country.
Concessionaires looking to deploy a telecommunications network in Mexico rely on the use of existing passive infrastructure (postería) belonging to the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE).
However, one of the great pending of the implementation of the Telecommunications Reform has been the effective fulfillment of the passive infrastructure sharing of the preponderant.
On the side of the infrastructure capital of productive enterprises of the state, a very important step recently took place for the resolution of this bottleneck of the development of telecommunications networks.
Its gestation and announcement was in charge of the Undersecretary of Communications of the SCT, Edgar Olvera, who presented the strategy and document of "Provisions of Access for Telecommunications to the Infrastructure of the National Electric System", from which access will be given to the infrastructure of poles of the CFE.
These guidelines enable an opportunity for telecommunications operators to have at their disposal 11 million poles, with 820 thousand kilometers of extension, which reach a coverage of more than 98% of the population.
On the side of administrative and tariff simplification, the determination to have a single consideration per operator stands out, with adjustments according to the weight of the wiring.
These provisions will enter into force on 1 January 2019, replacing those published in 2013 that only allowed the use of each pole by a single operator.
In a country that is characterized by its deficit of infrastructure for the provision of services in two dimensions, the one that is not available, as well as the one that is had, but used suboptimally, these provisions guarantee an efficient use of the capital deployed. This, by providing reliability, continuity and security of the CFE's pole infrastructure.
Under these new access conditions, the operation of the distribution electricity network will be facilitated, by reducing, in some cases, the costs associated with its maintenance. While for telecommunications operators a scenario of certainty, transparency and competitive access to this infrastructure will be established.
At the presentation event, the Undersecretary's remark and reflection also drew attention. Who owns the Telecommunications Reform?
To the State in its broadest definition. Not the government or the legislators. Not the industry, on its own. Not even in exclusivity to consumers. But to all the agents that produce, design, consume and depend on these services of transversal impact.
Certainly the Reform initiative derived from the formation of the Pact for Mexico, subsequently processed and approved by the Legislative Power, in reality it is a normative corpus that belongs to the nation, not to the political parties or the government. It is even appropriate to think that the consumer can claim his effective property, but requires effective management and defense.
In the words of Undersecretary Olvera, "what worries most is continuity, if there is no continuity then everything advanced, what has been walked will go overboard, absolutely everything."
The Reformation has been a magnificent initiative. Its full and effective implementation is still in process. Thus, it is now time to develop this materialization of its effects in terms of investment and competition, but it should be emphasized, it touches all the economic agents of the sector, particularly industry.
Text written by Ernesto Piedras of The Competitive Intelligence Unit.
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