Mexico. The Federal Telecommunications Institute, IFT, granted, in the first quarter of 2023, a total of 150 concessions, of which 106 correspond to telecommunications and 44 to broadcasting.
In the telecommunications sector, during the first quarter of 2023, the IFT Plenary resolved the granting of 104 concessions for commercial use and two for public use; Meanwhile, in broadcasting, 16 concessions of a social nature, six community, two indigenous and 20 of a public nature were granted.
Within the commercial concessions granted in telecommunications, five of them authorized the provision of a public telecommunications service in six localities of those indicated as priority attention by the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT), in the Social Coverage Programs 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, which serves a total of 5,971 inhabitants of those areas.
The concessions granted for indigenous social use for FM radio to the Kikapú indigenous community for the towns of Melchor Múzquiz and Piedras Negras in Coahuila de Zaragoza stand out, where populations of 66,834 and 176,327 inhabitants, respectively, are estimated. Likewise, the concession granted for community social use to La Monarca de Contepec, A.C., for the provision of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) service in Contepec in Michoacán de Ocampo, where a population of 35,070 inhabitants is estimated.
On the other hand, 11 public broadcasting concessions were granted to the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) and 7 to the Public Broadcasting System of the Mexican State (SPR) to provide this service in various locations in the Mexican Republic. With this, the IPN has 62 concessions in force, 61 DTT and 1 FM in the country, and the SPR with 72 current concessions, 61 DTT and 11 FM. Likewise, 2 more concessions were granted to the Government of Tlaxcala.
Historical balance
In this way, in the historical balance, the Institute has granted, since its creation to the first quarter of 2023, a total of 2,112 concessions in telecommunications and broadcasting.
As for the telecommunications sector, as of the first quarter of 2023, the IFT has delivered a total of one thousand 387 concessions corresponding to: one thousand 218 commercial, 144 public, 21 social and 4 indigenous.
In broadcasting, the historical balance shows that, in the first quarter of this year, 725 concessions have been granted.
As part of the activities carried out by the IFT to increase the number of broadcasting and telecommunications concessions for community and indigenous social use, there is the Programme for the Promotion and Encouragement of Community and Indigenous Broadcasting (Pro-Radio), which aims to provide information and advice to persons from indigenous communities or peoples and civil associations interested in obtaining a concession for broadcasting and telecommunications services. For 2023 it is contemplated to visit different states of the country among which are: Baja California, Sonora, Sinaloa, Veracruz, San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo, Chihuahua, Nayarit, Sonora and Durango.
The Commissioner President in Substitution for absence, Javier Juárez Mojica, emphasized that, with these actions, he realizes the commitment and work that the IFT since its creation, almost 10 years ago, carries out to increase coverage, both in the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors and in this way, support government actions aimed at reducing digital divides, as well as collaborating in the improvement of the quality of life of Mexicans.
