Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones

The Plenary issued the new Organic Statute of the Federal Telecommunications Institute

• The new Organic Statue presents new model of organization with a multidisciplinary approach that deals with the powers and mandates that contemplates the implementation of Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law and the Federal Antitrust Law
• To comply in due time and form with the Fourth Transitional Article of the Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law which establishes the adequacy of the Regulation within the legal framework
• It incorporates a new convergent administrative order that responds to international best practices

On September 20, 2013 the Plenary of the Federal Telecommunications Institute (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones, IFT) approved the first Organic Statute which responded to the need of having an administrative structure with specific powers so that this regulatory body is able to exercise its functions and to comply with constitutional mandates, providing for the issuance of a new regulation once the secondary legislation comes into force issued by the reform to the Constitution in the field of telecommunications.

In this respect, in compliance with the provisions of the Fourth Transitional article of the Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law, today, in extraordinary session, IFT Plenary approved the issue of the Organic Statute, in order to adapt it to the mandates set out in the new legal framework.

The new Organic Statute incorporates a converging organizational model which lays down administrative units of competence to exercise their functions with a multidisciplinary approach that deals with the powers and mandates that contemplates the implementation of Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law and the Federal Antitrust Law.

This converged structure includes the integration of substantive areas by specialized functions in which each will serve the corresponding issues of both telecommunications and broadcasting.

For the design and creation of the Organic Statute international best practices were taken into account, based on a compared survey between over 10 regulators from various parts of the world, which is an administrative ordering oriented to the efficiency in the implementation of the procedures carried out by the Institute.

It highlights the creation of the IFT Center for Studies, which will develop research, studies and analyses in the fields of telecommunications, broadcasting and economic competition in these sectors, to contribute to the performance of the functions of the Plenary and generate documents that are useful to industry, academia, and society in general.

Before the important task of protecting the rights of the users of telecommunications services, the General Coordination of User Policy is created, whose objective is to design and implement policies and guidelines to ensure protection of the population that receives and hires various services, among others.

On another note, to comply with legal mandates in the field of media and audiovisual policy, the approved General Regulation incorporates the Media and Audiovisual Content Unit, which will be in charge of designing and planning such policies to promote free access to diverse information, freedom of expression and the protection of the rights of audiences, among others.

Furthermore, the Radio Spectrum Unit main function will be the management of this resource, while the design of regulatory policy will remain with the Regulatory Policy Unit.

In response to the IFT objective to have greater participation and advocacy at the international level, the new organizational model will have a General Coordination of International Affairs that will act as the Institute liaison with authorities and international agencies for the execution of projects and follow-up to cooperation agreements, among others.

The General Coordination of Strategic Planning and Regulatory Improvement are also created to give full compliance to the obligations set out in the Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law.

With the issue of the General Regulation, not only compliance in due time and form is provided to the obligation of harmonizing this system with the new legal provisions, but also creates a new institutional design which will allow this body to regulate the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors in a modern and efficient manner, as well as the protection of the rights of users of services and stakeholders.