CFE will invest US$600 million in public telecommunications

The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) will resume the state’s connectivity project with the rollout of a Public Telecommunications Network, which will involve an investment of US$600 million and include the installation of free internet access points in all 32 states.

The project marks a shift from the connectivity strategy promoted since 2022 by the administration of former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, as it will no longer rely on fiscal resources allocated by the federal government and will instead be financed with the state-owned company’s own funds.

According to the program document, the public network will consist of deploying Wi-Fi hotspots to expand internet coverage in public spaces—particularly at tele-schools and IMSS medical facilities—using fiber-optic, copper, satellite, or 4G technology, depending on the conditions at each location.

Funding would come from revenue generated by the sale of connectivity services to end users, whose service plans saw price increases last week. For example, the most affordable monthly plan rose from US$1.89 to US$2.

The connectivity project is also facing the consequences of the institutional restructuring undertaken by the federal government. Since December 2024, the then-CFE Telecomunicaciones e Internet para Todos (CFE TEIT) had accumulated debts with suppliers.

Under the new structure, the CFE seeks to resume the expansion of public internet coverage through a network of Wi-Fi hotspots distributed throughout the country, albeit with a more limited scope than originally proposed.