Mexico. At times we seem to believe that the natural cycle of life is the sexennium, at least in Mexico it is so. However, it is always convenient to make cash cuts at the end of this 6-year political-economic cycle.
The perspective of the consumer in telecom in this period registers diverse changes, not only in the institutional and legal corpus, but in its effective conditions of decision and operation. In August 2015, profeco's Deputy Attorney General's Office was created, whose founding Deputy Attorney General, Carlos Ponce Beltrán, had several positive attributes, being appointed to the position for his experience in legislative, governmental, judicial and, notably, this convergent industry. An optimal melting pot of proven professional experience. The characteristic of its management can be highlighted in terms of conciliation and resolution of issues between the consumer (fixed and mobile broadband, cellular services, voice, pay TV, etc.) and operators, equipment manufacturers and users, content providers and audiences, to name a few.
More than three years after its creation, the Office of the Assistant Attorney General has established itself as a proactive body to protect, advise, reconcile and represent users in their relationship with telecommunications service providers. Through the effective and timely attention on various platforms, to the disagreements of Mexican subscribers.
This availability of information and conciliation windows through digital platforms has constituted agile and efficient channels for consumers and telecommunications companies, in line with the growing society and digital citizenship.
The British regulatory body, Ofcom, highlights the importance of knowing about the quality of services and experience of their use, such that it allows consumers to see beyond the price and get a true perspective of what they can expect from different companies. For operators, advertising quality metrics and consumer satisfaction are a clear incentive to improve the quality of their services. (https://goo.gl/ErtfSN)
The implementation of strategies by the Office of the Assistant Attorney General has been aimed at making the quality of services publicly accessible, with robust methodologies comparable to their international counterparts. Its purpose, clearly, is the optimization of benefits for consumers.
In quantitative terms, telecom users increased 19.6% to reach 259.8 million, as of the second quarter of 2018. And with a continuous growth in its segments, foreseeable to be maintained in the future.
At the time of the creation of the Deputy Attorney General's Office, the OECD ranked Mexico last (35) in terms of access to telecommunications services among the population of all member countries. In its most recent record, we have advanced several positions in the penetration of fixed and mobile internet. Enough? No, but welcome these advances.
Likewise, the results achieved b in terms of efficient and thorough attention and mediation of non-conformities and violations in the use of services stand out.
Indeed, we can affirm that the present has been the six-year term of the telecommunications consumer, and it must continue to be. Competition is not an end in itself, but a mechanism for optimizing the well-being of users of these services.
Finally, it is crucial to preserve and strengthen the advances that result from the maximization of consumer welfare that result from the operation of technological and market advances. But where market imperfections arise, we have welcomed these conciliation mechanisms. Undoubtedly, it is the beginning of a continuous path to travel in this life of connectivity.
Text written by Ernesto Piedras of The Competitive Intelligence Unit.
