Overview of the Mexican Telecom Industry in Q1 2025
The Mexican telecom industry generated revenue amounting to 148,541.1 million pesos (approximately $7,830 million USD) in the first quarter of 2025. The industry served a total of 78 million subscriptions for fixed telephony, internet, and restricted cable services, along with 131 million cellular lines, as reported to the Federal Institute of Telecommunications (IFT).
Data Submission Delays and Their Impact
However, the Q1 2025 data cannot be directly compared to Q1 2024, as several operators, including Axios Communications, Dale Fon, Directo Telecom, BAIT, FreedomPop, and Hispasat, failed to submit their required data on time. These companies did not provide their information to the IFT for the preliminary report at the start of 2025.
Among these late-submitting companies, Bodega Aurrerá Internet y Telefonía (BAIT), Walmart’s mobile virtual network operator, stands out due to its significant user base of around 20 million users. This size surpasses the reporting thresholds set by the IFT, including user activity data.
The IFT estimates that BAIT delayed submitting the required data, leaving the regulator to disclose this information addressing a common industry question: “How many genuine customers does BAIT have?” The rapid growth of this company has raised concerns among competitors.
Potential Impact on BAIT’s Business Plan
Should the IFT make this data public, it could influence BAIT’s business strategy. Critics have accused BAIT of employing a “fllopping” market strategy, exaggerating its user base size—a practice that could be detrimental to the company, similar to Wells Fargo’s 2020 SEC sanction for overstating sales success.
On September 18, 2024, the Federal Institute of Telecommunications approved and published the Guidelines for integrating its Statistical Archive in the Federal Official Gazette on October 9, to take effect on January 6, 2025.
“The objective is to have up-to-date, efficient, standardized, accurate, simple, clear, and transparent statistical information about the telecommunications sector’s performance,” stated the IFT. However, it remains unclear if the successor authority will continue this transparency initiative.
By Q1 2025, only 18 brands submitted the required information to the IFT for integrating its statistical archive, down from 19 brands, including BAIT, in the previous year.
Key Questions and Answers
- What is the Mexican telecom industry’s revenue for Q1 2025? The industry generated approximately $7,830 million USD.
- How many subscriptions did the Mexican telecom industry serve in Q1 2025? The industry served a total of 78 million fixed telephony, internet, and restricted cable subscriptions along with 131 million cellular lines.
- Why are Q1 2025 data comparisons with Q1 2024 difficult? Multiple operators, including BAIT, failed to submit their required data on time, making direct comparisons impossible.
- What is BAIT and why is its user data significant? BAIT, Walmart’s mobile virtual network operator, has around 20 million users. Its delayed submission of user data thresholds set by the IFT raises concerns.
- How might the IFT’s potential disclosure of BAIT’s user data impact the company? The public release could influence BAIT’s business strategy, as critics accuse the company of exaggerating its user base size.
