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Internet in Mexico

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Students of a Mexican secondary school using the internet.

Mexico has approximately 81 million Internet users representing 70.1% of the population.[1] The country ranks 10 in number of Internet users in the world. Mexico is the country with the most Internet users among Spanish speaking countries and is currently experiencing a huge surge in demand for broadband Internet services. In August 2005, Cisco Systems, said they see Mexico and countries in Latin America as the focal point for growth in coming years. With Mexico being identified as a hypergrowth market for equipment suppliers and receiving the biggest chunk of Cisco's investments. Additionally looking at the historical growth for the period from 2001 to 2005 we see broadband Internet jump from 0.1 subscribers per hundred population to 2.2 subscribers per hundred population, a growth of 2100% in just five years.[2]

Telmex is the largest provider of (A)DSL connection. After being converted from a state monopoly to a private enterprise by President Carlos Salinas de Gortari in 1990, it took the Mexican Government 5 years to establish regulations in the Telecommunications Act and only then were competitors allowed to enter the Mexican telecommunication market, leaving Telmex' and its owner Carlos Slim enough time to extend their technological lead. Nevertheless, Mexico is lagging behind the world average in connection speeds.[citation needed]

Mexico is one of the few Latin American countries that has little or no Internet censorship.[citation needed] However, increasing threats and violence against media outlets, reporters, and bloggers related to drugs and drug trafficking leads to self-censorship by the press and by individuals.

Broadband ISPs

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Broadband Growth Historical
(subscribers per hundred population)[2]
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
0.1 0.3 0.4 0.9 2.2

xDSL

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ISPs that provide xDSL:

  • Telmex started selling ISDN connections under the Prodigy Turbo brand name in the mid '90s. The service was then replaced for a few years with xDSL connections sold under the Prodigy Infinitum brand name. XDSL is now being offered under the Telmex brand name directly.
Telmex Packages (Through a commercial line)[3]
Name Downstream Upstream Price (MXN) Price (USD)
Infinitum Negocio 2 Mbit/s 512kbit/s 404 (~24)
Infinitum Negocio Red 4 Mbit/s 640kbit/s 706 (~55)
Infinitum Negocio Premium 6 Mbit/s 768kbit/s 1,209 (~73)
Telmex Packages (Through a residential line)[4] Including other phone services
Name Downstream Upstream Price (MXN) Price (USD)
Paquete 289 5 Mbit/s 512 kbit/s 289 (~13)
Paquete 389 20 Mbit/s 5 Mbit/s 389 (~17)
Paquete 435 30 Mbit/s 10 Mbit/s 435 (~26)
Paquete 499 40 Mbit/s 10 Mbit/s 499 (~30)
Paquete 599 150 Mbit/s 50 Mbit/s 599 (~36)
Paquete 999 300 Mbit/s 100 Mbit/s 999 (~60)

Cable

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Cablevisión Packages[6]
Package Speed Price (MXN) Price (USD)
Yoo Basico 2.0 6 Mbit/s 519 (~31)
Yoo Mas 10 Mbit/s 669 (~40)
Yoo Mas HD 12 Mbit/s 759 (~46)
Yoo Total HD 30 Mbit/s 999 (~60)
Yoo Premiere HD 50 Mbit/s 1399 (~84)

Packages include TV, Telephone and Internet services.

Megacable Residential Packages[7]
Speed Price (MXN) Price (USD)
3 Mbit/s 199 (~12)
4 Mbit/s 299 (~18)
10 Mbit/s 399 (~24)
20 Mbit/s 699 (~54)
Cybercable Residential Packages[8]
Downstream Upstream Price (MXN) Price (USD)
1 Mbit/s 500 kbit/s 150 (~9)
2 Mbit/s 800 kbit/s 200 (~12)
3 Mbit/s 1100 kbit/s 251 (~15)
4 Mbit/s 1500 kbit/s 301 (~18)
5 Mbit/s 1800 kbit/s 352 (~21)
6 Mbit/s 2000 kbit/s 402 (~31)
7 Mbit/s 2000 kbit/s 452 (~35)
8 Mbit/s 2000 kbit/s 503 (~39)

FTTH

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Recently there's been a big push towards fiber in the 3 big cities in Mexico (Mexico City, Guadalajara & Monterrey) and they offer up to 100 Mbit/s links, both synchronous and asynchronous. These services are being provided by:

  • Axtel
  • Iusacell
  • Telmex
  • TotalPlay

It is notable that not all providers offer all connection options to all customers. TotalPlay, for example, limits upload speeds to 10% of the purchased download speed (for residential customers, as of April 2020). While any discussion of upload speed is assiduously avoided on their website, this can be confirmed by calling their sales team directly. This is also mentioned on their Wikipedia page: TotalPlay Internet (Spanish).

WiMax

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ISPs that provide Wimax Technology:

  • AXTEL (ISP) - AXTEL started selling Wimax connections at the beginning of 2008. The service has been rebranded and named Acceso Universal.
Acceso Universal Packages (Internet connection plus a residential line)[9]
Name Downstream Local Calls Long Distance Mex, USA & Canada Price (MXN) Price (USD)
Acceso Universal 1 512 kbit/s Unlimited None 309 (~22)
Acceso Universal 2 1 Mbit/s Unlimited None 349 (~25)
Acceso Universal 3 2 Mbit/s Unlimited None 469 (~33)
Acceso Universal Packages (Internet connection plus a commercial line)[10]
Name Downstream Local Calls Long Distance Mex, USA & Canada Price (MXN) Price (USD)
Acceso Universal 1 1 Mbit/s 150 None 449 (~32)
Acceso Universal 2 1 Mbit/s Unlimited None 599 (~43)
Acceso Universal 3 2 Mbit/s 200 None 579 (~41)
Acceso Universal 4 2 Mbit/s Unlimited None 729 (~52)

Wireless (non-cellular)

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Wireless (cellular)

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There are three network operator:

and several MVNOs such as Virgin Mobile, Cierto, weex, Aló, Flash Mobile, Oui Movil, Maz Tiempo and QUBocel.

Internet censorship

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Mexican law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the government generally respects these rights in practice. There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitors e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups can engage in the expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.[17] The OpenNet Initiative (ONI) found no evidence of Internet filtering in 2011.[18] Mexico was classified as "partly free" in the Freedom on the Net 2011 report from Freedom House.[19]

Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) exercise an increasing influence over media outlets and reporters, at times directly threatening individuals who published critical views of crime groups. As citizens increasingly use social media Web sites such as Twitter and Facebook to obtain and share drug-related news, violence against the users of these sites is rising dramatically.[17] The threats and violence lead to self-censorship in many cases.[20]

Two states introduced new restrictions on the use of social media. In August 2011 Veracruz officials arrested Gilberto Martinez Vera and Maria de Jesus Bravo Pagola for allegedly spreading rumors of violence on Twitter. They were released following protests from civil society groups, but the state created a new “public disturbance” offense for use in similar cases in the future. Similarly, the state of Tabasco outlawed telephone calls or social network postings that could provoke panic. Civil society groups feared that the laws could be used to curb freedom of expression online.[17]

On September 24, 2011 police in Nuevo Laredo found the headless body of a female journalist who wrote on TCO activity on Primera Hora de Nuevo Laredo newspaper[21] and as an online blogger under the pseudonym of “La Nena de Laredo” (translating to “Laredo Girl” or literally “The Girl From Laredo”). Two other Nuevo Laredo-based bloggers were allegedly tortured and killed by TCOs in September and November, again in retaliation for posting comments on the Internet about local drug cartels.[17]

In May 2009, the Mexican Federal Electoral Institute (IFE), asked YouTube to remove a parody of Fidel Herrera, governor of the state of Veracruz. Negative advertising in political campaigns is prohibited by present law, although the video appears to be made by a regular citizen, which would make it legal. It was the first time a Mexican institution intervened directly with the Internet.[19][22]

In 2014, the Mexican government proposed the new Telecommunication Law, which if approved would seriously cripple the right of users to have free uncensored internet in similar ways to the SOPA and ACTA laws. This initiative was received with public outrage.[citation needed]

On 19 June 2017, The New York Times, in conjunction with Carmen Aristegui and Televisa news reporter Carlos Loret de Mola, reported that the Mexican government had used the Pegasus spyware to surveil on targets such as reporters, human rights leaders and anti-corruption activists using text messages as lures. From 2011 to 2017, the Mexican government spent $80 million on spyware. Pegasus infiltrates a person's cell phone and reports on their messages, e-mails, contacts and calendars.[23][24]

As of July 2017, Oxford University's Computational Propaganda Research Project claimed Mexico's social media manipulation (Peñabots) to come directly from the Mexican government itself.[25][26]

References

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  1. ^ "Percentage of population using the internet in Mexico from 2000 to 2019". Statista. February 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Broadband Statistics, December 2005". OECD. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
  3. ^ "Telefonía, Internet y servicios fundamentales para tu negocio". Telmex. Archived from the original on 2013-10-11. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
  4. ^ "Servicios de Telefonía e Internet de Banda Ancha en México". Telmex. Archived from the original on 2013-10-31. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
  5. ^ "IZZI Telecom". Izzi.mx. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
  6. ^ "izzi telecom". Sitioseguro.cablevision.net.mx. Archived from the original on 2014-06-26. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
  7. ^ "Megacable ~ Paquetes Megacable". Megacable.com.mx. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
  8. ^ ":: Telecable :: Televisión, Internet y TelefonÃa". Cybercable.net.mx. Archived from the original on 2013-10-26. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
  9. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20100605004226/http://www.axtel.mx/servicios/casa/internet/acceso_universal/internet_mas_telefono. Archived from the original on June 5, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2010. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ^ "AXTEL servicio de Internet, telefono y voip para casa, negocio, corporativos y gobierno". www.axtel.mx. Archived from the original on July 29, 2010.
  11. ^ "Medios México: Suspende MVS su servicio de internet móvil e-go". Mediosenmexico.blogspot.mx. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
  12. ^ "Ultranet2go Internet Inalambrico". www.ultranet2go.com. Archived from the original on March 14, 2007.
  13. ^ "Ultranet2go Wireless Broadband Internet". www.ultranet2go.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007.
  14. ^ "Telcel 4GLTE". Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  15. ^ "BAM". Iusacell. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
  16. ^ "Internet Movistar 4G LTE - Movistar México". www.movistar.com.mx. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  17. ^ a b c d "Mexico country report", Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, June 22, 2012
  18. ^ "Summarized global Internet filtering data spreadsheet", OpenNet Initiative, 29 October 2012, the OpenNet Initiative is a collaborative partnership of the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto; the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University; and the SecDev Group, Ottawa
  19. ^ a b "Mexico", Freedom on the Net 2011, Freedom House, January 18, 2012
  20. ^ "Digital and Mobile Security for Mexican Journalists and Bloggers". Freedom House. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
  21. ^ "Periodista asesinada en Tamaulipas por difundir información del narcotráfico en Internet | Homozapping". Archived from the original on 2018-01-17. Retrieved 2018-01-16.
  22. ^ "Google Translate". Retrieved 2015-02-22.
  23. ^ Ahmed, Azam; Perlroth, Nicole (19 June 2017). "Using Texts as Lures, Government Spyware Targets Mexican Journalists and Their Families". The New York Times.
  24. ^ Agren, David (19 June 2017). "Mexico accused of spying on journalists and activists using cellphone malware". The Guardian.
  25. ^ Timberg, Craig (17 July 2017). "Spreading fake news becomes standard practice for governments across the world". The Washington Post. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  26. ^ "Gobierno de México manipula con "bots" las redes sociales: Universidad de Oxford". Proceso (in Spanish). 17 July 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
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