Mass media in Mexico are regulated by the
Secretariat of Communication and Transportation (''Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes or SCT''), a
federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
executive
Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to:
Role or title
* Executive, a senior management role in an organization
** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators
** Executive dir ...
cabinet ministry and by the
Federal Telecommunications Institute
The Federal Telecommunications Institute ( Spanish: ''Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones''; abbreviated as IFT and incorrectly referred to as IFETEL) is an independent government agency of Mexico charged with the regulation of telecommunicat ...
(''Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones or IFT'').
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
's communication services market is among the largest in
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, liberalized in the 1990s, with the landmark privatization of Teléfonos de México (
Telmex
Telmex is a Mexican telecommunications company headquartered in Mexico City that provides telecommunications products and services in Mexico. Telmex is still the dominant fixed-line phone carrier in Mexico. In addition to traditional fixed-line ...
), a previously state-owned monopoly. Since then, new operators have entered the market, but Telmex remains the dominant player.
Regulation
Founded on 13 May 1891, as the Secretariat of Communications and Public Works, the SCT is divided into three subsecretariats: the Subsecretariat of Infrastructure, the Subsecretariat of Communications and the Subsecretariat of Transportation.
The SCT has ceded many of its regulatory functions to the
Federal Telecommunications Institute
The Federal Telecommunications Institute ( Spanish: ''Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones''; abbreviated as IFT and incorrectly referred to as IFETEL) is an independent government agency of Mexico charged with the regulation of telecommunicat ...
.
Radio and television
Usage of radio, television and Internet in Mexico nowadays is prevalent.
[Mexico Infrastructure, power and Communications]
National Economies Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 13 January 2007 The first television transmission in Mexico was conducted by Javier Stavoli in 1931.
Guillermo González Camarena
Guillermo González Camarena (17 February 1917 – 18 April 1965) was a Mexican electrical engineer who was the inventor of a color-wheel type of color television.
Early life
González Camarena was born in Guadalajara, Mexico. He was the younge ...
built his own monochromatic camera in 1934, and in 1940 he developed the first trichromatic system and obtained the first patent for color television in the world.
[Mexico]
The Museum of Broadcast Communications. Accessed on 24 February 2007 After developing radio and television stations, in 1948, he built the studio Gon-Cam, which was considered the best television system in the world in the time, according to survey conducted by the Columbia College of Chicago.
[
With the passage of the century, the television broadcasting market became dominated by two powerful companies, ]Televisa
Grupo Televisa is a Mexican multimedia mass media company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content.
In April 2021, Televisa and Univision Communications announce ...
—the largest Spanish media company in the Spanish-speaking world — and TV Azteca
TV Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V. is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate owned by Grupo Salinas. It is the second-largest mass media company in Mexico after Televisa. It primarily competes with Televisa as well as some local operators. It owns two nationa ...
, even though several dozen regional networks operate in the country. In addition, many states have their own television networks, and public television has increased its market penetration in recent years. In 2014 there were 1,762 radio stations and 1,063 separately licensed analog and digital television stations.
Telephone and Internet
In general, the telecommunications industry is mostly dominated by Telmex
Telmex is a Mexican telecommunications company headquartered in Mexico City that provides telecommunications products and services in Mexico. Telmex is still the dominant fixed-line phone carrier in Mexico. In addition to traditional fixed-line ...
(''Teléfonos de México'') and América Móvil
América Móvil is a Mexican telecommunications corporation headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico. It is the 7th largest mobile network operator in terms of equity subscribers and one of the largest corporations in the world. América Móvil is a ...
. The telecommunications industry was privatized in 1990 under the control of Grupo Carso
Grupo Carso is a Mexican global conglomerate company owned by Carlos Slim. It was formed in 1990 after the merger of Corporación Industrial Carso and Grupo Inbursa. The name Carso stands for Carlos Slim and Soumaya Domit de Slim, his late wife.
...
and since 1996 under Carlos Slim
Carlos Slim Helú (; born 28 January 1940) is a Mexican business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. From 2010 to 2013, Slim was ranked as the richest person in the world by the '' Forbes'' business magazine. He derived his fortune from h ...
. Telmex has diversified its operations by incorporating Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
service and mobile telephony. It has also expanded its operations to Colombia, Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
, Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
, Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
and the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. Due to Mexican diverse orography
Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader discip ...
—the country is crossed by two high altitude mountain ranges extending from the Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...
—providing landline telephone service at remote mountainous areas is expensive, and penetration of line-phones per capita is low compared to other Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
n countries, with 20 million lines.[Communications]
Mexico. CIA Factbook.
Mobile telephony has the advantage of reaching all areas at a lower cost, due to reduced investments in required infrastructure, and the total number of mobile lines in Mexico is nearly five times that of landlines, with an estimated 95 million lines.[ The telecommunications industry is regulated by the government through the ]Federal Telecommunications Institute
The Federal Telecommunications Institute ( Spanish: ''Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones''; abbreviated as IFT and incorrectly referred to as IFETEL) is an independent government agency of Mexico charged with the regulation of telecommunicat ...
(IFT, ''Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones'').
In April 2009, the ITESM
Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) ( en, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education), also known as Tecnológico de Monterrey or just Tec, is a secular and coeducational private university based in ...
(''Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey'') reported 25,217,500 users; 78% of personal computer Internet access is broadband
In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...
access., ranking ninth in the world. November 2019, Spanish telecoms giant Telefónica signed a deal to use some of AT&T's infrastructure in Mexico.
Satellite communications
The satellite system is domestic with 120 earth stations. There is also extensive microwave radio relay network and considerable use of fiber-optic and coaxial cable.[
Mexican satellites are operated by ''Satélites Mexicanos'' (]Satmex
Satmex (Satélites Mexicanos) was a company set up in Mexico in the mid-1990s through 2014 that operated space communication satellites that provide services to the Americas.
In 2014, it was acquired by Eutelsat, and Eutelsat now operates the t ...
), a leading private company in Latin America which services both North and South America. Satmex offers broadcast, telephone, and telecommunication services to 37 countries in the Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
, from Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
to Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. Through business partnerships, Satmex provides high-speed connectivity to ISPs and Digital Broadcast Services.Mexican Operator Satmex Has Chosen Arianespace to Launch Its New Satmex 6 Satellite
14 February 2002. Spaceref.com. Accessed on 24 January 2007 The system is currently composed of three main satellites: Solidaridad 2, Satmex 5 and Satmex 6.
The Secretariat of Communications and Transportation
The Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (''Secretaría de Infraestructura, Comunicaciones y Transportes'', SICT) of Mexico is the national federal entity that regulates commercial road traffic and broadcasting. Its he ...
is also in the process of deploying the Mexican Satellite System
The Mexican Satellite System, also known as MEXSAT, is a network of three satellites bought by the Mexican government's Ministry of Communications and Transportation. The three satellites are named Mexsat-1, Mexsat-2, and Mexsat-3. Subsequently, ...
(MEXSAT), but a launch failure has postponed the project.
See also
* Transportation in Mexico
As the third largest and second most populous country in Latin America, Mexico has developed an extensive transportation network to meet the needs of the economy. As with communications, transportation in Mexico is regulated by the Secretariat o ...
* Economy of Mexico
The economy of Mexico is a developing mixed-market economy. It is the 15th largest in the world in nominal GDP terms and the 13th largest by purchasing power parity, according to the International Monetary Fund. Since the 1994 crisis, admin ...
References
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Telecommunications In Mexico
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...