The Mexican magnate has expressed that the use of telecommunications networks should incur a fee. In this regard, José Juan Haro, director of Wholesale Business and Public Affairs for Telefónica Hispanoamérica, emphasized the importance of traffic-generating companies contributing to infrastructure deployment. Haro pointed out that the increase in data traffic represents a challenge for infrastructure and that a global discussion is underway regarding a model where large traffic generators contribute to the development of telecommunications.
José Antonio Merino, head of the Agency for Digital Transformation and Telecommunications (ATDT), has sought to dissociate from the proposal to charge digital platforms that the Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law project suggests. Merino emphasized that the draft law reform they are working on does not foresee the creation of a solidarity fund nor the collection of additional taxes beyond those contemplated in the current legislation.
The proposed regulation for digital platforms, such as Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, Google, Mercado Libre, among others, is in a preliminary stage. The government seeks for these platforms to allocate part of their revenue to a solidarity fund for social coverage of telecommunications networks. If they fail to comply with the proposed measures, the platforms could face access blocks by the main telecommunications operators in Mexico.
The proposal, known as fair share, seeks for large tech companies to contribute to the maintenance of network infrastructure. In this case, companies like Netflix, Google, Amazon, and Mercado Libre would be obliged to make payments to the Mexican government, unlike in other countries where payments would go to telecommunications operators. The proposal has sparked debates about the contribution of digital platforms to the use of telecommunications networks, especially in a context where data traffic has significantly increased.
