CRT finds fault in its authorizations

The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (CRT) plans to authorize experiments with satellite technologies in Mexico, but an omission in the definition of these authorizations could create legal uncertainty for projects involving the use of orbital resources.

The issue was raised by a participant in the public consultation on the requirements for controlled testing and experimentation environments, during which some differences were identified between the resources that interested parties may request and those that the administrative act would expressly authorize.

The omission appears in Article 2, Section I, which defines authorization as the administrative act through which the CRT authorizes the implementation of a test environment and, where applicable, the use of radio spectrum; however, the definition does not expressly mention orbital resources.

Nevertheless, orbital resources are addressed in other sections of the draft regulation.

Article 1 includes orbital resources within the scope of the guidelines; Article 7 provides for their identification in applications; Article 9 establishes criteria for evaluating them; and Article 10 requires that they be included in authorization decisions.

Thus, the draft guidelines addresses orbital resources at various stages of the process but does not expressly include them from the definition of the administrative act that would authorize the tests.

The observation does not suggest that the CRT lacks the legal authority to authorize satellite experiments. Rather, it concerns the internal consistency of the proposed regulatory framework of the proposed instrument, not the existence of such authority.

The proposed amendment would clarify the scope of the authorizations. The participant argues that this adjustment would not expand the CRT’s powers but would instead align the definition of the administrative act with the other provisions of the draft regulation.