Mexico

From https://www.redesac.org.mx/regulacion

Mexico reformed its constitution in 2013 and issued the Federal Law of Telecommunications and Broadcasting in 2014, to include a new legal regime of community and indigenous social concessions.

In accordance with article 67 section IV of the referred Law, they are granted for the following purposes:

Concessions for community social use may be granted to civil society organizations that do not pursue or operate for profit and that are constituted under the principles of direct citizen participation, social coexistence, equity, gender equality and plurality.

The concessions for indigenous social use may be granted to the country's indigenous peoples and communities in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Institute and shall be aimed at the promotion, development and preservation of their languages, culture and knowledge, promoting their traditions, internal rules and principles that respect gender equality, allow indigenous women to participate in the objectives for which the concession is requested and other elements that constitute indigenous cultures and identities.

Mexico's telecommunications regulator, the Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT), issued both the guidelines for obtaining this type of concession and the Annual Program for the Use and Exploitation of Radio Spectrum Frequency Bands (PABF). In it, a small segment of frequency bands is reserved annually for this new type of concessionaire to provide telecommunications and broadcasting services in remote and rural areas and localities that do not have connectivity.

The case of Mexico is special since for the first time specific bands are determined for social use services in the telecommunications sector. For this purpose, the concession of various portions of spectrum that are available within the segment known as the cellular band was contemplated, which is between 824-849 MHz and between 869-894 MHz.

It should be mentioned that article 174-L of the Federal Law on Rights exempts applicants for community and indigenous social concessions from payment for the study of their application and for the issuance of the title of concession or extension of concessions for the use, exploitation or exploitation of frequency bands of the radio spectrum.

Article 83 of the Federal Law of Telecommunications and Broadcasting establishes that concessions of radio spectrum for social use are granted through direct assignment without payment of any consideration.

The reservation established in the GSM band gave rise to the first indigenous cellular telephone network in the world that, in a pioneering manner, managed to provide sustainable telephone services in locations of high and very high marginalization of between 200 and 3 thousand inhabitants.