Red Compartida

Red Compartida, meaning “Shared Network,” is the official name of Mexico’s national wholesale-only mobile telecommunications network. It emerged from the Mexican government’s telecommunications reform program of 2014–2016, which sought to increase competition, lower barriers to entry, improve coverage, and reduce the market power of incumbent operators. Rather than selling mobile services directly to consumers, Red Compartida provides network capacity to mobile operators and other communications-service providers, which use that capacity to offer retail voice, messaging, and data products under their own brands. The project was designed against the background of Mexico’s highly concentrated telecommunications market. América Móvil, controlled by Carlos Slim, had historically held dominant positions in Mexican fixed-line and wireless services. The reform package approved in July 2014 included measures intended to eliminate domestic long-distance charges, facilitate customer switching, expand access to free-to-air television, and strengthen the role of telecommunications regulation. A central structural element was the creation of a carrier’s-carrier wireless network that would be independent from existing mobile service providers. The model was intended to allow new entrants to avoid the very high capital cost of building a nationwide radio-access network from scratch. Mexico’s telecommunications regulator introduced the Red Compartida initiative in 2015. The government required bidders to demonstrate that they had no ownership or other qualifying ties to mobile service providers already operating in Mexico. The international public tender was won in November 2016 by the Altán Redes consortium, a private Mexican-led group. The project was formalized through a public-private partnership signed in January 2017, and Altán Networks was formally established as the operating entity in March of that year. The network uses spectrum in the 700 MHz band and was planned around an all-IP architecture and 4G LTE technology, including LTE Band 28. Red Compartida received authorization to begin commercial operations on March 15, 2018, after reaching its initial coverage requirement of 30 percent of Mexico’s population and coverage of 25 percent of the country’s Pueblos Mágicos destinations. The first operational stage was publicly inaugurated on March 21, 2018, ten days ahead of the deadline set in the public-private partnership. Subsequent deployment plans called for expansion toward nationwide availability, with a stated long-term target of reaching approximately 92.2 percent of the population. The concession was structured for 20 years, with an option for a further 20-year extension. The network’s commercial proposition is infrastructure access rather than a consumer-facing cellular subscription. Capacity is made available to retail operators and other eligible users through wholesale arrangements, allowing multiple brands to compete while sharing the same underlying network. This approach can reduce the upfront investment required for market entry and can support services in areas where a smaller operator might otherwise find network construction uneconomic. The project also emphasized coverage in smaller communities and tourism-oriented locations, including towns with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants and designated Pueblos Mágicos. Red Compartida attracted international attention as an example of public policy using a neutral wholesale network to stimulate competition. Mexico received a Governmental Leadership recognition connected with the project at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in 2016. The initiative also generated resistance or concern from established operators, including AT&T, which was reported as uncomfortable with the competitive implications of a network from which existing mobile operators were restricted from bidding as builders or controlling participants. Red Compartida therefore represents both a telecommunication…

Red Compartida was created as part of Mexico’s effort to reform a telecommunications sector characterized by high concentration and significant barriers to infrastructure-based competition. Before the project, América Móvil occupied a dominant position in Mexican fixed-line and wireless markets. Public criticism focused on the cost and quality of telecommunications services, while regulators and policymakers also raised concerns about the ability of incumbent infrastructure owners to influence competitors through access conditions and connection charges. In July 2014, Mexico enacted broad telecommunications reforms. The measures addressed domestic long-distance charges, number portability and customer switching, competition, and access to free-to-air television. The reforms also required the telecommunications regulator to establish a wholesale-only wireless network. This “carrier’s carrier” would operate separately from retail mobile providers and sell network capacity to multiple service companies. The policy objective was to make entry less expensive by allowing providers to launch consumer services without first financing a complete national mobile network. The regulator announced the Red Compartida initiative in 2015. The planned network would use Mexico’s 700 MHz spectrum and an all-IP, 4G LTE architecture. The government’s tender rules included strict independence requirements: a bidder seeking to construct and operate the network had to show that it had no qualifying ties to mobile service providers already active in Mexico. This was intended to preserve the network’s neutral wholesale character and prevent an incumbent from using the project to reinforce its own retail position. On November 17, 2016, the Mexican Ministry of Communications and Transportation announced the Altán Redes consortium as the winner of the international tender. The award was followed by the signing of a public-private partnership in January 2017. Altán Networks was formally constituted as the network operator on March 30, 2017, completing the administrative steps associated with the tender and the partnership. The initial contractual target required the network to begin with coverage of 30 percent of Mexico’s population, along with coverage of 25 percent of Pueblos Mágicos locations. Red Compartida was authorized to begin commercial operations on March 15, 2018, after reaching that first milestone. On March 21, President Enrique Peña Nieto inaugurated the initial stage. Deployment then continued, with a later target of serving 50 percent of the population by 2020 and a longer-term objective of reaching approximately 92.2 percent of the population. Plans also emphasized smaller settlements and designated tourism destinations. The network’s wholesale-only design distinguishes it from conventional mobile operators. Red Compartida does not function as a consumer brand selling ordinary mobile subscriptions directly. Instead, it supplies capacity to mobile network operators, mobile virtual network operators, and other communications providers. Those customers can package the capacity into retail offerings under their own brands. Access was envisaged to be allocated through wholesale arrangements and regular auctions, creating a common infrastructure platform for multiple competitors. The project received international recognition at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in 2016, where Mexico was associated with a Governmental Leadership award for its telecommunications policy. At the same time, the model generated apprehension among established operators, particularly because the tender’s independence rules excluded existing operators from taking the same role in building or controlling the shared network. Red Compartida consequently became a prominent example of Mexico’s attempt to use regulated shared infrastructure to promote competition and extend mobile connectivity.

1. 2018Commercial operations begin

   Red Compartida received authorization to start commercial operations after meeting its initial 30 percent population-coverage requirement and covering 25 percent of Pueblos Mágicos locations.

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2. 2018Initial stage is inaugurated

   The first stage of the network was inaugurated on March 21, ten days before the relevant public-private partnership deadline.

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3. 2017Public-private partnership and operator formation

   The public-private partnership was signed in January, and Altán Networks was formally established as the operating entity in March.

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4. 2016Altán Redes wins the international tender

   The Altán Redes consortium was selected to develop and operate Red Compartida after the government’s international public tender.

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5. 2015Red Compartida initiative is announced

   The Mexican telecommunications regulator announced the initiative to create a neutral wholesale mobile network using the 700 MHz spectrum.

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6. 2014Mexico enacts telecommunications reform

   Mexico adopted broad telecommunications reforms aimed at increasing competition, improving consumer switching, removing domestic long-distance charges, and creating the framework for a wholesale-only wireless network.

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A neutral, wholesale-only national mobile network designed to lower barriers to entry, broaden coverage, and increase competition in Mexico’s telecommunications market.

• Red Compartida wholesale LTE networkMobile telecommunications infrastructure2018

  A national wholesale-only mobile network operated by Altán Redes. It uses the 700 MHz spectrum band and 4G LTE technology to provide network capacity to participating mobile operators and other communications providers. The network is not designed to sell ordinary retail subscriptions directly; instead, its infrastructure supports consumer services offered by third-party brands.

• Wholesale network accessCarrier services2018

  Capacity access for mobile network operators, mobile virtual network operators, and other eligible service providers. By sharing the underlying radio and transport infrastructure, the model is intended to reduce the capital required for new providers to enter Mexico’s consumer telecommunications market.

• 2018Red Compartida begins commercial operationsProduct launch

  The network had to meet an initial coverage milestone before it could enter commercial service.

  What changed. Authorization was granted after the network reached coverage of 30 percent of the population and 25 percent of Pueblos Mágicos locations.

  Aftermath. The network proceeded with further deployment toward broader national coverage and additional service-provider access.

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• 2016Altán Redes is selected as project operatorStrategy

  The government sought a privately operated network that remained independent from Mexico’s existing mobile service providers.

  What changed. The Altán Redes consortium won the international public tender to develop and operate Red Compartida.

  Aftermath. The award led to a public-private partnership and the formal creation of the operating entity.

  • AT&T — AT&T was reported to be concerned about the project because existing operators were excluded from participating in the network under the tender’s independence requirements.
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• 2014Government adopts wholesale-network reform frameworkStrategy

  Mexico’s telecommunications reforms sought to address market concentration, high entry costs, and consumer concerns about pricing and service quality.

  What changed. The government established the policy basis for an independent wholesale-only wireless network that would sell capacity to multiple retail providers.

  Aftermath. The reform led to the Red Compartida initiative and a subsequent international tender for a network operator.

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• 2018Red Compartida receives authorization for commercial operations

  The network was authorized to begin commercial operations after meeting its initial population and Pueblos Mágicos coverage obligations.

  Product launch
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• 2018First stage of Red Compartida is inaugurated

  President Enrique Peña Nieto inaugurated the first operational stage of the shared network shortly before the deadline specified in the public-private partnership.

  Product launch
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• 2017Public-private partnership for Red Compartida is formalized

  The project’s public-private partnership was signed and Altán Networks was formally established as the operating entity for the network.

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• 2016Mexico selects Altán Redes consortium for Red Compartida

  Mexico’s Ministry of Communications and Transportation announced that the Altán Redes consortium had won the international tender to develop and operate the Red Compartida wholesale mobile network.

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• 2016Established operators express concern over the wholesale-network model

  AT&T was reported to be particularly concerned about the project because existing mobile operators were barred from participating as qualifying builders or controlling participants under the tender’s independence requirements.

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1. Red Compartida