Red Compartida Mexico's National Shared Network Developments

Red Compartida Mexico's National Shared Network is a significant development in the country's telecommunications industry. The network was launched in 2015 with the goal of providing a shared infrastructure for mobile operators.

It was developed by a consortium of six mobile operators, including AT&T, América Móvil, Telefónica, T-Mobile, Vodafone, and Iusacell. This collaboration aimed to reduce costs and increase efficiency in the provision of mobile services.

The network covers over 60% of Mexico's population, with a total of 34,000 kilometers of fiber-optic cables laid out. This extensive infrastructure provides a solid foundation for the growth of mobile services in the country.

Red Compartida has also enabled the deployment of 4G services in many areas, improving mobile coverage and speeds for users.

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The regulatory framework for Red Compartida is designed to promote fair competition among service providers.

Under the PPP agreement, Altán is not permitted to sell directly to the public, but instead must offer a non-discriminatory wholesale reference offer for access to its network.

This reference offer has to guarantee service quality, including uplink and downlink speed, latency, and network availability, and was approved by the national regulator, Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT), in February 2018.

To ensure fair competition, the Mexican Government requires bidders for the Red Compartida Network to demonstrate that they have no ties to any existing mobile service provider in Mexico.

The goal of this requirement is to prevent any single company from dominating the market.

Red Compartida has made significant progress to date, with the network entirely based on 4G-LTE technology and full virtualization for easy migration to 5G.

Over 60 service providers are currently using the network, and it has already met its obligation of covering 50 per cent of the population by January 1, 2020.

Red Compartida is expected to reach areas without coverage, providing broadband services in regions that currently don't have service or where only one alternative is available.

Its next target is to cover 70 per cent of the population by January 1, 2022, with Altán aiming for 92.2 per cent coverage in 2024.

In many areas, Red Compartida is the only available broadband network, highlighting its importance in bridging the digital divide.

Red Compartida will also improve the quality of telecommunications, allowing existing and future carriers to offer more and better services to residents.

Prices for mobile services will continue to fall, building on the trend seen between 2014 and 2015 when telephony and mobile broadband prices dropped.

The Red Compartida will enable the creation of and access to technologies and applications that residents can use to create entrepreneurial projects and new production techniques.

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The Red Compartida network is designed to be "wholesale only", meaning it won't provide mobile services directly to consumers.

Instead, the network will be sold to mobile operators who will then offer services to consumers. This model allows many new entrants to enter the Mexican market at once, which is a significant advantage.

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The cost of building a mobile network is prohibitively expensive, requiring billions of dollars in capital outlay. By using a wholesale only network, the cost of offering a new consumer service to Mexican customers will be significantly reduced.

The Mexican Government expects the construction of the wholesale network to generate 13 billion dollars of Foreign Direct Investment over a three-year period.

The network currently operates on LTE band 28.

Red Compartida provides a template for other countries to consider in promoting digital services competition. It's a wholesale-only company that facilitates infrastructure sharing between retail service providers and dominant companies like América Móvil in Mexico.

By creating a natural environment for infrastructure sharing, Red Compartida offers attractive wholesale prices for access to public assets such as backbone fibre and radiofrequency. Transparency and non-discrimination are achieved through the publication of a Reference Access Offer.

The company sets coverage requirements to facilitate digital inclusion. This approach can help ensure that more people have access to digital services, which is essential for economic and social development.

Creating a new wholesale-only company is a key strategy for facilitating infrastructure sharing, as seen in the case of Red Compartida in Mexico.

This approach provides a natural environment for infrastructure sharing to take place, allowing retail service providers to access public assets such as backbone fibre and radiofrequency at attractive wholesale prices.

By requiring the publication of a Reference Access Offer, transparency and non-discrimination are achieved, setting a good precedent for other markets.

Setting coverage requirements is also crucial, as it facilitates digital inclusion and ensures that everyone has access to essential services.

Here are some key takeaways from Red Compartida's model:

In Mexico, there's been a significant push to improve digital literacy, with efforts to provide internet access to remote communities.

The Mexican government has launched several initiatives to increase internet penetration, including the installation of fiber-optic cables in rural areas.

Mexico's digital divide is particularly evident in the country's indigenous communities, where only 20% of households have access to the internet.

The government has also established programs to provide digital skills training to students and adults, with a focus on underserved populations.

Mexico's growing tech industry is creating new job opportunities, with companies like Google and Microsoft establishing operations in the country.