The Mexican Congress has approved the creation of the Agency of Digital Transformation and Telecommunications, which will have the level of a Ministry to centralise the digital transformation project proposed by President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has appointed José Peña Merino to lead this agency.
The Agency will bring together all the legal powers on telecommunications previously held by the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT). It will therefore be responsible for developing and conducting telecommunications and broadcasting policies. Likewise, the agency will assume control of the Mexican Space Agency, Promtel, the Mexican Postal Service, INFOTEC, and the National Commission for Regulatory Improvement.
The Agency will be developed under two main axes: digital transformation and public digital infrastructure.
Digital transformation of the federal government
This axis will include topics such as the creation of a digital identity for every citizen by 2025, including an access code called LlaveMx to access the government’s digital procedures; the technological ruling of all ICT acquisitions carried out by the federal government, and the simplification and digitalisation of all procedures by 2029, among other projects.
Public digital infrastructure
As previously mentioned, the Agency will be responsible for the Telecommunications Policy. It will also be in charge of the Mexican Space Program, which aims to have a new geostationary satellite by 2028. Likewise, it will establish the National Cybersecurity Plan of the Federal Government by 2025, as well as an Intelligence area for data processing, including AI models to improve tax collection. It will also provide Cloud services for the federal government and establish a software factory to develop government systems.
It is worth remembering that the OECD Telecommunication and Broadcasting Review of Mexico 2017 included recommendations to address improvements to the institutional framework regarding digital strategy, digital inclusion, e-government, and the use of ICT in the government while recognising the progress achieved by the independent regulator, the IFT. The proposal from President Sheinbaum’s government is broader than the OECD recommendations and reflects a willingness of the Mexican government to foster digital transformation.
Notwithstanding the above, the bill to eliminate autonomous constitutional bodies, such as the IFT and Cofece, is gaining strength in Congress. It is envisaged that the Agency of Digital Transformation and Telecommunications will assume the functions of the IFT in the near future.
As these reforms progress rapidly, tech and telecommunications companies should be aware of legislative developments closely given the potential regulatory and competition effects over the markets.
Access Partnership closely monitors regulatory reforms affecting competition and telecommunications in Mexico. To learn more about how these changes may impact your business, please contact Geusseppe Gonzalez at [email protected] and Fernando Borjón at [email protected].
