Economic concentration: Mexican mobile phone and internet markets in the face of the telecommunications reform

Abstract

In 2013, the Constitutional Reform of Telecommunications and Broadcasting was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation, which, among its objectives, sought to reduce the degree of economic concentration in the Mexican mobile telephony and internet service markets. This paper analyzes the regulatory policy in these markets and evaluates the changes in their structure as a result of the Reform. Two concentration indices are used, CR3 and HH, and an instability index that shows the reconfiguration of the markets over time. The study variable corresponds to the number of mobile telephone and internet lines, obtained from the Federal Telecommunications Institute. It is found that, from 2011 to 2020, the degree of concentration of both markets has been extreme and without relevant variations, exhibiting an oligopolistic structure. This suggests that, despite regulatory modifications and the entry of new firms, the Reform has not succeeded in weakening the participation of the three largest operators, nor in eliminating the dominance of América Móvil.