Querétaro, Qro. The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (CRT) presented the 2026 radio spectrum bidding plan in Querétaro, as part of the first dialogue table in the interior of the country.
This year, three spectrum auctions are contemplated: for industrial network services, for fixed microwave service and for mobile broadband service, explained the general director of CRT Spectrum TendersMarisol Nava León, at the Center for Research in Applied Sciences and Advanced Technology (CICATA), of the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), in the state capital.
The objective of the plan is to satisfy the demand for spectrum to connect industry, rural areas and expand the 5G mobile services.
The purpose of the meeting is to know the requirements of the industry, operators and users, he explained, adding that for the first time there is the initiative to consult those interested in contributing to build the bidding bases.
It is contemplated that in the first quarter dialogue tables will be held to gather needs or identify whether it is necessary to launch a different process to respond to the demands of the industry, operators, among other actors.
Later, in the second quarter they will design the bases, they would also go through a public consultation process and the publication of bases. It is estimated that the bidding process will take place in the second half of the year.
Without connectivity 126,699 locations
When exposing the connectivity situation in the country, the director revealed that there are 126,699 locations without coverage, of which, almost 31% (38,987) are in three states: in Chiapas 15,959, in Veracruz 12,651 and Chihuahua 10,377. These localities bring together 8.3 million people, representing 6.6% of the population.
In the country, he added, 1.9 million people lack connectivity despite being less than four kilometers from an antenna.
In addition, they count 26 million people over 14 years of age with guaranteed 5G coverage, they are almost 25% of the total, therefore, they seek to increase this statistic and generate networks with better coverage.
Marisol Nava mentioned that the instruments that the CRT has to improve connectivity are: tenders, to provide access to the spectrum to provide services, discounts in the payment of rights and the national procedure model.
Querétaro, a dynamic region
Within the republic, the CRT identifies Queretaro as a dynamic state, where significant growth is observed in the data center industry and the development of the technology sector, declared the director.
In matters of infrastructurethe entity is fifth in internet access, as well as tenth in mobile telephony, among other characteristics.
Regarding the potential of the bidding for industrial use, it was analyzed that Querétaro is among the entities with the largest number of industrial parks, it is the seventh national place and concentrates 5.5 percent.
They seek feedback
Meanwhile, through the dialogue tables they seek feedback to have greater clarity on what to tender and how to tender it, added the general director of Regulatory Policy of the CRT, Ricardo Castañeda.
He explained that there are already records of sectors that have accessed the radio spectrum, an example is the mining industry, there are also records of railway, manufacturing and even tourism companies.
“We would be talking about no less than 15-20 cases of industrial uses where these titles or authorizations of the radio spectrum have been granted, all of them have been for self-provisioning, not for commercial use. Here the innovative thing that we are promoting is a tender to sell commercial services, let’s say, for special purposes, which are industrial uses,” he explained.
As part of this consultation process, the CRT established a calendar of dialogue tables: they began at the headquarters in Mexico City; and this January 22, in Querétaro, the tables were set up inside the Mexican Republic. The exercise will also be replicated in the cities of Hermosillo, Mérida, Monterrey, Zapopán, Veracruz and Tijuana.
