Mexico. The Federal Institute of Telecommunications, IFT, approved the call for 234 frequencies in the segment from 88 to 106 MHz of the FM band and 85 frequencies in the segment from 535 to 1605 kHz of the AM band aimed at different locations.
The frequencies contained in the IFT-8 Tender are the result of the issuance of the Annual Frequency Band Programs (PABF) 2016 to 2019, plus those included in the 2015 Program that were previously tendered, but that received bids and were deserted.
To facilitate participation, the IFT will make available an online computer platform for the registration of expressions of interest and for most of the activities of the tender. Access to this platform will be through the institutional portal www.ift.org.mx in the IFT-8 Tender section.
With the aim of motivating competition and the greatest possible competition, the Institute has established the following participation incentives:
- 15% to new competitors in broadcasting (i.e. AM sound broadcasting, FM sound broadcasting and digital broadcast television), or
- 10% to new competitors in the corresponding AM or FM band, according to the corresponding Lot.
These incentives will be applicable on the economic amount of the participants' offers. Additionally, it is considered an optional stimulus of 5% on the winning bid to promote innovation to operate the radio station in hybrid analog-digital format according to the IBOC standard.
The concessionaires that opt for this incentive will have a period of 3 years, extendable on a single occasion up to a period equal to half of the originally planned term, to start the hybrid analog-digital operations, from the delivery of the corresponding concession titles and must keep it operating like this during the rest of the term of the concession.
On the other hand, the minimum reference values of the lots in the FM band range from 25 thousand to 12.46 million pesos in Cancun, Quintana Roo; and in the AM band, from 6 thousand to 4.76 million pesos in San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León.
For the submission of bids in the tender, a multi-round bottom-up simultaneous mechanism (SMRA) will be used, which has been the most used for spectrum allocation in international experience and is convenient when multiple lots are offered, since it allows switching or "switching" between lots of similar value and concludes only when there is no activity in any of the lots offered.
It is important to remember that the IFT-8 Tender is a public, open and transparent process in which any Mexican natural or legal person who meets the requirements established in the Federal Law on Telecommunications and Broadcasting (LFTyR) may participate in accordance with the respective bases, in addition to the fact that it is the second public tender of frequency bands for concessions for commercial use in Mexico for the sound broadcasting service. The previous process, IfT-4 Tender, resulted in the allocation of 141 new concessions to 66 different winning participants.
The IFT-8 Tender Rules can be downloaded free of charge on the IFT portal, or directly at this link: http://www.ift.org.mx/industria/espectro-radioelectrico/radiodifusion/2021/licitacion-ift-8-radiodifusion-am-y-fm
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