The Federal Telecommunications Institute officially announced that, starting October 17, 2025, its social media accounts will be inactive and it will cease providing customer service. This closes the chapter of more than a decade regulating telecommunications in Mexico.
The IFT has been the arbiter between you and companies like Telcel, AT&T, Izzi, Total Play, and Megacable since 2013. It regulated the radio spectrum, granted concessions, promoted competition, and protected audience rights. Now all that changes.
What’s next? On October 14, the Senate ratified the five commissioners of the new Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (CRT), which will replace the IFT. The names: Ledénika Mackensie Méndez González, María de las Mercedes Olivares Tresgallo, Adán Salazar Garibay, Tania Villa Trápala, and Norma Solano Rodríguez.
Now, the CRT will NO longer be an autonomous body like the IFT. It will now be attached to the Digital Transformation and Telecommunications Agency, which reports to the Executive Branch. Four of the five commissioners already worked at that same agency, sparking criticism about its true independence.
The closure of the IFT has been chaotic: 133 freely appointed workers are still awaiting their severance pay, another 450 who were laid off had to be urgently rehired under temporary contracts, and users who try to contact it only receive a recording directing them to Profeco or ATDT.
The IFT bids farewell with a message: “For more than a decade, it worked with firmness, independence, and commitment to promote the efficient development of telecommunications. We bid farewell with pride for what has been achieved and with deep gratitude to society for the trust placed in it.”
The question many are asking: Will this change improve internet and mobile services, or will we lose the balance that existed between the state and companies in the sector? Time will tell, but Mexico has just completely changed its telecommunications regulatory model.
Source: Tribuna
