Telecom Reform Published; IFT to Be Dissolved

The new Law on Telecommunications and Broadcasting, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) on July 16, entered into force the following day. This sweeping reform repeals the 2014 Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law (LFTR) and restructures the country’s regulatory framework for the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors.

At the core of this reform is the elimination of the Federal Institute of Telecommunications (IFT), the autonomous regulatory body established in 2014. The responsibilities, personnel, and assets of the IFT will be transferred to two new institutions: the Agency for Digital Transformation and Telecommunications (ATDT), a federal agency under the executive branch, and the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (CRT), a technically and operationally autonomous body attached to the ATDT. The CRT will consist of five commissioners appointed by President Claudia Sheinbaum and will assume regulatory and oversight responsibilities once fully constituted. Until then, the IFT will continue to operate to ensure continuity in regulatory functions.

The Elimination of the IFT

The dissolution of the IFT risks violating international agreements, particularly the USMCA, reports MBN. According to the USMCA’s telecommunications chapter (Art. 18.17), regulatory bodies in the sector must remain independent from service providers to ensure impartiality and fairness. The dissolution of the IFT could be seen as a violation of this provision, leading to legal challenges from both within Mexico and its international partners.

Art. 21.1 of the competition policy chapter stresses the need for cooperation between relevant national authorities on competition matters, something that could be hindered by centralizing regulatory power under a single entity. Ballesteros warns that Mexico must be careful not to undermine its international commitments or breach constitutional principles related to market competition.

The removal of the independent oversight bodies could make Mexico a less attractive trade partner, says Diego Marroquín, Inaugural Bersin-Foster North America Scholar, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, to MBN. "Such changes could undermine the institutional trust and favorable environment necessary for private investment and capital accumulation, moving Mexico in the opposite direction of deeper integration with the United States and Canada," says Marroquín.

To facilitate this transition, all ongoing administrative and regulatory procedures under the IFT will be suspended for 60 business days, except for urgent matters related to spectrum management, user protection, and concession renewals. Additionally, the IFT may designate the normally non-working days between July 21 and Aug. 1 as business days to support the handover process and minimize disruption.

The new legal framework grants the CRT broad powers to regulate spectrum use, manage telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructure, supervise satellite and orbital resource utilization, and enforce consumer and audience rights. A key provision of the law mandates that dominant players in the mobile telecommunications market—referred to as preponderant economic agents—must allow competitors access to their services, including airtime, SMS, data, and roaming, under equitable and competitive conditions.

Another major component of the reform is the government’s commitment to expanding digital connectivity by using public spectrum to provide free internet access, particularly in underserved and rural areas. This objective aligns with President Claudia Sheinbaum’s promise to connect over 15 million Mexicans who lack reliable internet service.

Earlier drafts of the law faced strong criticism for clauses that could allow government intervention in digital platforms and potential overreach in accessing personal data. These concerns prompted the Sheinbaum administration to revise the proposal. Officials now stress that the new law does not allow censorship or mass surveillance and that any access to personal information must be judicially authorized.

Implementation of the reform follows a defined timeline. The law took effect on July 17, 2025. Within 30 days, the Executive must issue secondary regulations, and Congress is given one year to harmonize related legislation. The IFT will remain active until the CRT is fully operational with all five commissioners in place.