Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones

Consult the Plenary agreement (Spanish) No. P/IFT/120615/152

	(It will enter into force as provided in  First 
	Transitory 
	Article
	 in 

	the Agreement, which will be published in the coming days in the 

	Official Gazette of the Federation)

IFT Plenary aproves the new measures for the number portability process to be even faster and easier for the users

• Modifies Portability Rules to implement improvements that strengthen the rights of users to switch from telephone service provider while retaining the same number
• Solves also to submit for public consultation the Guidelines Draft that set the rates and quality parameters that providers of mobile services must fulfill
• Approves and issues the format for concessionaires to report their ownership structure

In order to strengthen the right of users of telecommunications services to change phone companies without losing their number, a process known as number portability, the Federal Telecommunications Institute (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones, IFT) approved measures to make this process easier and more agile.

These changes are the result of continuous improvement effort by the Institute in the regulatory function from the entry into force of the Rules of Number Portability. In this regard, a public consultation was performed on April 6^th to May 4^th this year on amendments to these rules, in which views and comments from the industry were received. Also, under Technical Committee on matters Portability, Numbering and Signaling, various meetings with the Telecommunications Service Providers were made, of which the regulatory body identified several opportunities to improve the current process for the benefit of users.

Thus, in an extraordinary meeting held on June 12^th this year, the Plenary of the Institute decided the following changes to the Number Portability Rules:

• Users who make use of their right to number portability and who are individuals, will no longer need to present the request format to carry geographic numbers and host companies will not have to send images of identification documents to the Database Manager. With the removal of these items the process will be more efficient and the use of electronic means in the processing of applications portability will be promoted.
• The choice of valid documents for the identification process is extended, it includes CURP. Thus, the new provider may request, at any time prior to the execution of portability, identification documents necessary for the completion of the process, which speeds up the process in the benefit of users.
• Information tools and data that will enable the user to provide timely follow to the current status of their process of portability and thereby have the elements that allow you to demand the carrying of their number within a period not exceeding 24 hours from the time of filing the application with the new service provider you chose. Also, this information will enable the Institute to effectively and efficiently exercise its oversight and monitoring for strict compliance with the applicable regulations.
• They are established and clarified elements of information in text messages and audible provided to the users, in order to avoid the occurrence of rejections of exports.
• Mainly mobile mechanisms to ensure continuity in the provision of telephone services are set by the receiving provider, defining responsibilities aimed at ensuring the availability of necessary physical elements (SIM card) for the provision of the respective service.

The new measures provide for different stages for its entry into force, so some will be effective from the day following the publication of these rules in the Official Gazette of the Federation, and those that require  the development or adaptation of processes and / or systems is set for its proper application in 90 calendar days.

Thus, the Institute carries out activities for the benefit of users and providers of telephony services to reduce administrative costs in the process of number portability, so that users effectively exercise the right of numerical portability.

At the same meeting, the Plenary of IFT agreed to submit to public consultation the Guidelines Draft whereby are established the fixing rates and quality parameters that the mobile service providers must comply. Thus, it is proposed to abolish the Basic Technical Plan of Local Mobile Service Quality, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on August 30^th of 2011 and update the existing indicators taking into account the technological evolution of cellular networks as well as the best international practices.

The Draft aims to establish the conditions to allow a better offer of mobile service, promoting the rights of users of telecommunications services to provide them with better quality. It also seeks to eliminate information asymmetries, empowering users to have the elements to allow them to make informed decisions when choosing a mobile service provider.

Among the main points contained in the Draft stand out the following:

• Upgrade the quality indices analyzing the historical results of quality monitoring conducted by the Institute, technological developments and international best practices.
• Establish indices, or securities compliance, of data service quality.
• Take measurements of quality of data transfer services on the move, to reflect real conditions.
• To verify compliance with quality indices through field measurement exercises and to complement them by an analysis of the quality of mobile networks with information taken directly from the network service providers. The results will be published on the Internet portal of the Institute in order that the general public is aware, in a friendly language, the quality offered by the mobile service provider.
• Take measurements that reflect the quality of the user experience, so the results are informative. Such measures include, among others, those made from "apps" that can be downloaded from smartphones obtaining information directly from users, making them monitors of the quality of their mobile service.
• Make public the minimum speed data transfer ("from") offered for each access technology (2G, 3G and 4G) and not just the maximum speeds ("up") for data transfer.
• The ban on advertising as "broadband" services that do not meet the broadband parameters established by the Institute.
• In case of failures involving more than 500 users for more than 30 minutes, establish the obligation for the service provider to provide the information of the users affected so the Institute in collaboration with the Federal Bureau for the Consumer (Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor, PROFECO) start the corresponding bonus processes.

On the other hand, the Plenary approved and issued the Format whereby telecommunications and broadcasting service concessionaires must submit to the Institute, its ownership structure or social parts, in compliance with the provisions of Article 112 of the Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law.

According to the article "the concessionaire, where a legal person shall submit to the Institute no later than June 30^th of each year, its equity structure or social parties concerned, with their participation rates, accompanying plus a list of shareholders holding five percent or more of the share capital of the company, and the names of individuals who participate directly or indirectly ten percent or more of the share capital of the company main shareholders and their respective percentage of ownership, which accompany the information in the format specified by the Institute. "

This information on the shareholding structure will be registered by the IFT in the Public Registry of Concessions, as well as changes in the control, ownership or operation of related companies with concessions in telecommunications and broadcasting, to give the corresponding advertising.

The format will be available on the website of the Institute www.ift.org.mx so it can be downloaded by concessionaires, corporations, in telecommunications and broadcasting matters so they can present it in a timely manner.