Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones

IFT celebrates World Competition Day

• The regulatory body for telecommunications and broadcasting also is responsible, according to the Constitution, of economic competition in both sectors

• It is an opportune occasion to celebrate cooperation between competition authorities, national and foreign, that seek through its competition policy and regulation efficiency of markets for the benefit of users

• The Institute is part of the Competition Committee of the OECD and works to join to other international networks in the field

This December 5^th World Competition Day is celebrated, an occasion in which the authorities on the subject of many countries unite their voices and actions to actively promote the culture of competition and celebrate the importance of their role to promote economic activities, improve income distribution and increase consumer welfare.

The Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT), besides of being an autonomous body responsible for the efficient development of telecommunications and broadcasting, is also the competition authority in both sectors. Since its inception, the Institute has worked to boost competition and free competition in telecommunications and broadcasting, as established by the Constitution, the Federal Law of Economic Competition and the Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law.

The IFT included as a key element in its institutional objective, ensuring free competition, and remove restrictions on convergence and innovation in telecommunications and broadcasting.

The Institute, as other jurisdictions, faces the challenge of combating anticompetitive practices and channel consolidation and vertical and horizontal integration of enterprises, with the aim of generating a healthy dynamic between competitors which results in benefits for the user. In its dual responsibility also has the challenge of incorporating the promotion of free competition as a cross-cutting principle in its regulatory work.

Specifically, they are important issues for telecommunications and broadcasting service convergence and digitization of content neutrality competition, technological neutrality and network neutrality as well as dynamics with which services on network are developed and the possibilities opened up by new technologies, in coexistence with traditional means and services.

For the Institute, the World Competition Day is a timely opportunity for cooperation between competition authorities, national and foreign, to join hands in this common purpose, especially in an industry that has world-class competitors.

Remember that the Institute, from this year on, along with the Federal Competition Commission (Comisión Federal de Competencia, COFECE) is part of the Competition Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Also, the IFT has proposed and is driving the formation of a Group of Economic Competition within the Latin American Forum of Telecommunications Regulators (Foro Latinoamericano de Entes Reguladores de Telecomunicaciones, Regulatel).

In addition, the IFT is in the process of being part of the International Competition Network, an international organization whose mission is to advocate for the adoption of rules and competition policies in the world, to propose and facilitate an effective international cooperation for the benefit of the organisms that integrate it, the economies and consumers.

The Institute has made economic competition a common element in the actions and policies implemented in the telecommunications and broadcasting in our country, therefore warmly welcomes this World Competition Day.