Alexandra Borgeaud
Research expert covering cybersecurity and tech in Latin America
Get in touch with us nowAmérica Móvil continues to reign over the mobile telephony segment
As of early 2023, there were approximately over 139 million mobile phone lines active in Mexico, out of which around 84 percent were prepaid, and 15 percent postpaid. Telcel, owned by América Móvil, is by far the largest player in this sector, providing services to 76 percent of mobile phone lines in the North American country in 2022. AT&T and Telefónica followed, with 13 and 7 percent of mobile phone lines, respectively. In the fourth quarter of 2022, mobile telephony traffic in Mexico totaled more than 78 billion minutes, up from just 33 billion minutes in the fourth quarter of 2015.An ever-growing number of mobile internet users
In 2023, Mexican telecom companies are expected to provide their services to nearly 111 million mobile internet users, which translates into a 78 percent penetration rate. Mobile phone web traffic accounts for the biggest share of mobile internet traffic in Mexico, amounting to a little under half of all web traffic. Moreover, in the first quarter of 2023, around 77 percent of mobile phone web traffic originated from devices running on Android.5G on the rise
While 3G and 4G networks still accounted for 91 percent of mobile broadband traffic in Mexico in 2021, 5G technology continues to gain traction in the country, with estimates indicating that by 2025, up to 14 percent of Mexico’s mobile connections will be to a 5G network. As of June 2023, there were three 5G networks deployed in Mexico, owned by Telcel, Movistar, and AT&T, respectively. The latter was the first telecommunication company to announce its 5G deployment in Mexico. Nevertheless, in addition to the delays caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 5G deployment in Mexico continues to face major infrastructure and economic challenges.
