By Adriaan Ten Kate
The Mexican telecoms reforms of 2013 and 2014 were inspired by a dubious perception that Mexican telecoms were lagging far behind modern developments, by an excessive confidence in what competition can bring about in markets with strong economies of scale and by unrealistic expectations about what economic regulation can achieve in such a setting. As I set out in this article, the results thus far are a crusade against the incumbents under the banner of competition, a spiral of regulatory intervention with increasing costs and diminishing returns, and a creeping erosion of the incentives that private operators are left with to invest in the expansion and upgrading of their networks. The reforms may well turn out to be counterproductive, and fail to address the real challenges facing the industry.
DownloadThere has been rapid progress in more affordable telecoms access and wider coverage in Mexico, but the view of ADRIAAN TEN KATE is that reforms – aimed mainly at establishing equal access at competitive prices – may fail to address current and future convergence and technology challenges.
- Intermedia Issue:
- Volume 46, Issue 03
- Issue Date:
- October 2018
- Theme:
- Competition Policy
- Region:
- Americas
Adriaan Ten Kate
Consultant in competition and regulation 
