The goal of every government is to improve the quality of life of its citizens; to achieve this, it implements public policies that seek to remedy deficiencies in the supply of government services, while promoting private sector investment, which in turn increases the supply of jobs in the market. This implies coordination among all government departments, both vertically and horizontally, to identify areas where modifications are required to benefit the population.
The telecommunications sector possesses a very important quality: being transversal, it directly impacts the performance of all jurisdictions in the country, regardless of whether they are federal secretariats, municipal governments, or the country’s presidency. For this reason, any administration needs to ensure that companies operating in this industry have the favorable conditions necessary to encourage investment, which, due to the industry’s very nature, translates into technological innovation.
However, for decades, the Mexican reality has not followed common sense and logic. For example, all recognized sources, both national and international, have identified the costs of using the radio spectrum for mobile services as excessive.
Considering that mobile service is, for millions of people, the primary point of entry to telecommunications and the digital content it provides access to, maintaining this revenue-oriented policy can only generate negative externalities. Among these, perhaps the most obvious has been the return of licenses by Telefónica and AT&T. Among the less visible ones, one can identify the speed at which the population coverage of 5G networks expands compared to countries such as Chile, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, or Uruguay, as well as to Australia, Brazil, Canada, the United States, and India.
Faced with this situation, the Digital Transformation and Telecommunications Agency (ATDT) has rightly announced that its goal is to connect all Mexicans to digital technologies so that they can benefit from all the services available to them and, in the process, develop their digital skills, especially in the field of generative artificial intelligence. To illustrate the feasibility of this objective, José Antonio Peña Merino, Secretary of ATDT, demonstrated in his presentation at the Mexico Digital Summit 2025 how India had successfully increased broadband consumption through mobile networks while lowering prices for consumers.
Meanwhile, in Mexico, the situation was one of constant data consumption, but with prices that have increased for users. As part of the comparison, it was shown how India’s 4G and 5G population coverage surpassed that existing in Mexico, since, according to figures cited by ATDT, by the end of 2024, only 45.76% of the population could access 5G service in Mexico, while in India this number reached 82.15% of the population. These figures cannot be immediately understood if one considers that by the end of 2024, the per capita income of Mexico is five times that of India in nominal USD terms (2,696 vs. 14,157) and more than double if adjusted for purchasing power parity in USD (11,158 vs. 25,698), according to World Bank figures.
After seeing this comparison made by ATDT, the question to answer is: are the environments of both countries comparable?
The answer is no, as numerous conditions and initiatives, driven by government authorities, favor the adoption of 5G in India. For this reason, according to figures from the global consulting firm IDC, in the coming years, we will see the result of these policies, since by the end of 2024, with 17% of its mobile lines being 5G, Mexico surpassed India, which had only 15% of its mobile lines with this technology. This number contrasts with the consultant’s projection, which suggests that in Mexico, by 2029, 5G mobile lines will account for only 34% of the total, while in India, they will reach 67%.
The conditions that promote healthy 5G growth in India are closely related to the cost structure of mobile operators and the incentives that the government has been creating for the sector.
On September 15, 2021, the Union Cabinet approved a relief package for the telecommunications sector, which allowed for a reduction in payments that operators owed to the government. This legislative body also reduced the bank guarantees required for licenses and the corresponding interest rates. It simplified the authorization of permits for infrastructure deployment by automating the process and establishing a single window for the approval of fiber optic deployment along right-of-way, thereby reducing the cost of connecting 5G antennas. Finally, it authorized the use of low-cost public infrastructure for the placement of so-called small cells that improve 5G connectivity. These measures sped up network deployment while reducing operators’ bureaucratic expenses for permits.
Another government program that reduces mobile operators’ costs is the Production Linked Incentive (PLI), which offers incentives of 4 to 7% to manufacturers. In addition, mobile operators achieve significant savings by acquiring locally produced 5G infrastructure equipment instead of importing it, mainly by avoiding import and social welfare duties of 20–22%, logistics costs of 5 to 10%, and exchange rate fluctuations of 2 to 5%, resulting in an estimated net savings of 10 to 20% per unit after offsetting the higher local production costs (12 to 13%) that India has compared to China. These measures, together with those established for right-of-way and permit automation, allow estimated annual savings of 25 to 40% in the expansion of 5G coverage.
A third measure in India is seen in the allocation of radio spectrum. The 5G spectrum auctions in India generated significant savings for telecommunications operators, with the complete elimination of spectrum usage charges (SUC) for new spectrum assignments. This change, introduced with the 5G auction, previously represented between 3% and 8% of operators’ gross revenues. Estimates published in the Financial Express indicate that the elimination of the SUC represents annual savings of US$587 million (Bharti Airtel: US$264 million, Reliance Jio: US$247 million, and Vodafone Idea: US$76 million). Considering that the spectrum concession granted in the 5G auction is for 20 years, the elimination of the SUC amounts to savings of US$11.68 billion for operators, according to data published in the Indian newspaper Financial Express.
Obviously, other measures help to boost 5G growth in India and serve as incentives for the country’s mobile operators to continue their aggressive expansion and growth strategy for the new technology. It is worth noting that the government’s goal was already outlined in the proposed National Telecommunications Policy 2025 (NTP-25). Simply put, the government aims to transform India into a global telecommunications powerhouse through universal connectivity, with 100% of the population equipped with 4G by 2030 and 90% with 5G by the same date.
Mexico lacks initiatives similar to those of India to reduce the cost structure of mobile service operators. Undoubtedly, these lower costs provide greater flexibility to Indian operators when establishing their pricing strategy for end consumers, allowing them to offer cheaper services but with a better profit margin than their Mexican counterparts.
It should also not be overlooked that, according to estimates by Counterpoint Research for mid-2025, the Indian market has a larger number of 5G phones: only 41% of new cell phones sold in the Latin American region, including Mexico, were 5G. The figures for new phones sold in India on the same date, which are 5G, exceed 80% according to the same consulting firm. It is important to mention that many low-cost brands present in the Indian market offer 5G phones that can be between 40 and 50% cheaper than those sold in Mexico, which facilitates the adoption of the technology by users.
The presentation by ATDT aimed to increase data use in Mexico, reach 10 GB per user at 100 pesos, offer 5G services to the entire population, and encourage the deployment of these networks nationwide. We all wish for this goal to be achieved. I suggest that lessons be learned from the measures adopted by India that can be immediately replicated in Mexico and integrated with those already learned from markets such as Brazil and the European Union. Above all, changes in the revenue model would result in the allocation of the radio spectrum, representing savings of US$11.68 billion over a period of 20 years. In the absence of being able to replicate the PLI, eliminating import tariffs on telecommunications equipment could be considered.
We must not forget that the objective of the Indian government is to become a telecommunications power, and to achieve this, it has adopted numerous measures to facilitate the deployment of infrastructure by operators. Nevertheless, the message is clear: to boost the telecommunications sector, operators require the full support of government authorities. It remains only to decide between limited short-term benefits with a revenue-collection model or to bet on the multiplication of resources through a governmental commitment to promote the positive externalities that 5G networks could provide as the cornerstone of a national digitalization strategy.
I only wish that ATDT succeeds in all its initiatives, because if this new government agency is successful and fulfills its objectives, it will ultimately benefit the Mexican people.
