Mexico. In accordance with the schedule of the IFT-4 Tender, the Federal Institute of Telecommunications, IFT, began the delivery of 123 radio spectrum concession titles, for 27 AM radio frequencies and 96 FM radio frequencies, to 57 different winning participants who met all the requirements established in the bidding rules.
Prior to the start of the delivery of the respective concession titles, the Institute held an event in which its Presiding Commissioner, Gabriel Contreras, accompanied by members of the Plenary, recognized before the concessionaires the interest aroused by this historic tender: "For more than twenty years no new concessions for commercial use had been granted in our country for sound broadcasting; this, as a result of the Telecommunications Reform, will allow the public in different regions of the country to have new information and entertainment options."
Of the total number of winning participants who will receive their concession titles, 47 obtained frequencies only on FM, 7 only on AM and 3 obtained frequencies on both bands. In addition to the concessions in the process of delivery, on May 30 the Plenary of the Institute determined to grant the favorable ruling to 25 new winning participants who at the time expressed interest in remaining in this bidding process and presented the highest subsequent bids in relation to the bids of the first places that were disqualified for some breach of the bidding rules. These new winning participants have until July 31 to pay the corresponding considerations.
As will be recalled, on June 27, 2016, the first stage of the bidding process began, with the expression of interest and delivery of information and documentation electronically by potential participants in obtaining one or more of the frequencies in FM and AM.
In principle, 421 expressions of interest were received to participate in the tender, by 189 individuals and 232 legal entities. Of the total, 208 submitted documentation: 70 were natural persons and 138 were legal entities. On January 15 of this year, the Plenary of the Institute approved the delivery of the certificates of participation for 167 interested parties who accredited their administrative, legal, financial and technical capacity.
Once the corresponding technical proposal has been authorized by the Institute, the concessionaires will have up to 180 working days to start transmissions. It should be noted that, of the new FM radio stations that will soon go on the air, at least 43 of them will do so with both analog and digital transmissions.
With this tender that increases the total number of commercial concessions by about 10%, the Institute promotes competition in the sound broadcasting sector, promotes the efficient use of the radio spectrum, introduces new broadcasting services, promotes freedom of expression and access to information, and allows new voices to enrich the programmatic offer we have today.
The Federal Institute of Telecommunications is scheduled to start new AM and FM radio tenders towards the end of this year, in response to the Annual Frequency Band Programs 2016 and 2017.
