2024 Elections / National Internet Coverage

2024 Elections. As pre-campaigns leading up to the 2024 electoral process advance, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador urged the Mexican population to stay vigilant and be "very careful" regarding the spread of fake news and media campaigns.

He called on the public to remain mindful and calm in the face of the information they receive, emphasizing that there will be no censorship against any media outlet or citizen.

National Internet Coverage. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador guaranteed that by 2024, the last year of his administration, there will be almost total internet coverage throughout the country. He stated that the current internet coverage stands at 94%. 

President López Obrador indicated that CFE Telecommunications and Internet for All will be a company dependent on the CFE and asserted that it will be consolidated by the end of his government.

Starlink Contract With CFE. The Coordinator of National Digital Strategy, Carlos Emiliano Calderón Mercado, stated that the contract won by Elon Musk's company, Starlink Satellite Systems México, with CFE to provide telephone and internet services, was possible thanks to the company’s economic offer. 

On Nov. 6, it was revealed that Starlink, a unit of the US-based SpaceX, secured a contract with CFE worth up to MX$1.556 billion, a sum also confirmed by the official today. "Since the beginning of the 'Internet for All' project, we have sought all possible technologies to connect the entire population very quickly," he said. He explained that one of the technologies used for internet service is satellite connection, involving satellites distant from Earth and entailing a delay in telecommunications.

He mentioned that the new contracted satellite service is provided by Starlink Satellite Systems México, adding to eight other companies providing internet service in the "Internet for All" program, totaling 22,207 contracts.

"It is the fastest service in terms of data transfer, as there is no signal delay from the ground to the satellites," he stated. The contract adds to another obtained by SpaceX's unit with CFE to provide cellular phone service for up to MX$1.775 billion, also valid until December 2026. The Mexican government has 3,936 contracts with five companies, including Starlink, to offer this service.