Mexico to create satellite council to promote access, economic growth

The Mexican government, through the communications and transport ministry (SCT), has proposed the creation of a new public-private steering committee to advise the government on the development and expansion of satellite services in the country, according to a document published in the official gazette.

The new satellite policy guidelines, published a few months before a new government will be elected in July, stress the need to improve access to satellite technologies and services in areas such as fighting inequality in a country still lagging in internet and basic communication access, economic development, national security, technological and knowledge development and international cooperation, the document states.

"Satellite technologies and services represent a major element in the strategy to reduce social inequalities in the country, because they allow geographical barriers limiting people's and communities connectivity to be surpassed," the document, signed by Mexico's SCT minister Gerardo Ruiz, reads.

Mexico is one of the largest regional markets for satellite pay-TV services, with around 10.7mn subscribers at the end of 2017, according to local consultancy The CIU. By comparison, AT&T's DirectTV unit had 13.6mn subscribers in the whole Latin American region at the end of the first quarter of 2018. The country, the official document said, still has four available planned satellite positions for telecoms.

The government plan emphasizes the reinforcement of the state-owned satellite system Mexsat, used mostly for security and emergency communications, including the possibility of forging alliances with the private sector to finance operating expenses in exchange for the use of excess capacity.

The new committee will create "specific goals and the necessary indicators to measure the advancement and efficacy of the government's satellite policy," the document adds.