Mexico. The third quarter of 2025 left a clear picture of the fixed segment in Mexico. A market that no longer surprises by quantitative leaps, but by the way in which it is reconfigured. Fixed broadband is advancing, telephony remains practically immobile and pay TV continues to give ground to streaming.
The story is not new, but each quarter brings nuances that are worth deciphering to understand where we are going and, above all, what strategic decisions will have to be made in the industry to maintain the pace of connectivity that today sustains Mexico economically, socially and productively.
Revenue Generating Units (UGIs) reached 72.7 million as of 3Q25, a modest growth of 1.5% year-on-year that confirms the maturity of the market. We are not facing a sector in accelerated expansion, but one that evolves with the logic of an essential service that is already a structural part of homes and businesses.
Fixed broadband, again, is the engine with 29 million connections and an annual advance of 4.9%. This growth does not occur by inertia, it responds to the continuous deployment of fiber optics and the growing demand for higher speeds that allow teleworking, simultaneous streaming, video calls and an increasingly demanding digital ecosystem.
At the opposite extreme is traditional fixed telephony. With 27 million lines and zero growth, the service is no longer self-propelled. Today it depends on converged packages that include it as a complement, which explains the growth of 5.7% within integrated platforms. In other words, the user no longer contracts telephony, he receives it as part of the combo that really interests him: stable internet and entertainment.
The most illustrative case of structural change is Pay TV, with 16.7 million subscriptions and an annual drop of 6.3%, a persistent reduction since 2021. The slowdown in the decline is minimal, enough to show that the market is resilient, but not to reverse the trend. Streaming continues to absorb subscribers and redefines the competition for screen time. This forces cable companies to pack connectivity with video-on-demand if they want to stay relevant.
In admissions, the result confirms the rearrangement. The fixed and restricted TV segment generated 61 billion pesos, a slight advance of 0.4% year-on-year. Pay TV with converged services shows a slight recovery, 0.7%, after two quarters of decline, largely attributable to the strategies of bundling with digital content platforms.
The balance is clear. Broadband sustains the market, convergence extends its commercial arm and restricted television seeks to reinvent itself so as not to lose its validity. The challenge for operators will be to increase network capacity, improve user experience and design flexible packages that integrate connectivity, content and digital services. Mexico is moving towards a connected economy and, on that path, broadband will not only be the star product, but also the infrastructure that enables education, productivity and competitiveness.
Analysis by Gonzalo Rojón of The Competitive Intelligence Unit, The CIU.
