Mexico. The Federal Institute of Telecommunications, IFT, approved the General Guidelines for the Publication of Transparent, Comparable, Adequate and Updated Information, Related to Telecommunications Services, which establish conditions that allow users to know more easily, clearly and accessible the characteristics of their services, such as the speed of their internet or coverage of their telephone service, the working days and hours to carry out the installation or uninstallation of pay-TV equipment; or penalties for canceling a plan early.
With these Guidelines, users will be able to consult information in a standardized way of all the operators of mobile or fixed telephone and internet services, as well as pay television, which will allow them to compare more easily the offers that are in the market and, with it, choose the option that best suits their tastes, needs and budget.
This provision makes it possible to give clarity to the concessionaires and authorized on how they must disclose the information referred to in the Federal Law on Telecommunications and Broadcasting, in its article 195, which establishes the conditions for concessionaires and authorized parties to publish transparent, comparable, adequate and updated information on the prices and rates of the services they offer, on any costs related to the termination of the contract, as well as information on access to and use of the services they provide to users or subscribers.
With these Guidelines, the concessionaires and authorized are obliged to publish on their respective Internet pages, a specific section of details so that the user can consult and download -for each plan or tariff package that they market- the Simplified Information Formats, which contain, among others, the basic information about the rate, including consumption, additional costs, discounts and terminal equipment.
Through these formats, users will be able to know and access the Minimum Bill of Rights of Users, the IfT Telecommunications Services Comparator and the Soy Usuario platform, which will allow them to compare the main characteristics of the tariff plans offered by the companies that provide the service or services they are looking for.
Additionally, the concessionaires and authorized must publish and make transparent in a section of their respective Internet pages, information related to the use of the services and termination of the contract, such as: penalties, contractual guarantees, interests, contracting and cancellation of services, procedures, installation, use policies, speeds, coverage, among others.
For the construction of the Guidelines, the IFT analyzed and considered the best practices adopted by regulatory bodies of the telecommunications sector in countries such as Germany, China, the United States of America, Portugal, among others; and submitted a preliminary draft of guidelines for public consultation.
