By Patrick Nixon -
Mexico's congress has approved a budget of 2bn pesos (US$155mn) for the the telecoms regulator Ifetel for 2014, falling short of what the organism felt it needed by some 1bn pesos, local press reported.
Ifetel head Gabriel Contreras said last month that the new regulator, which was established in September, would ideally need some 3bn pesos though he ended up requesting 2.25bn pesos.
For 2013, the now defunct former telecoms regulator Cofetel received 658mn pesos. The significant increase in the budget is due to the new regulator's additional responsibilities and workload.
The immediate challenges Ifetel faces are: the auction of two new open TV channels, unbundling, creating a single concession license and taking action to curb the power of dominant players.
Cofetel had originally requested 3bn pesos, of which 2.2bn pesos were due to be assigned to subsidizing the switch to digital TV. However, after that responsibility was transferred to the transport and communications ministry SCT, it looked like Ifetel would end up with only approximately 700mn pesos for next year.
Former Cofetel board member Alexis Milo was quoted by El Universal as welcoming the news that the budget had almost tripled and that Cofetel's small budget had limited its ability to carry out all its duties.
"There were areas that Cofetel left pending like the analysis of the better use of spectrum, which could not be carried out due to a lack of resources," Milo said.
Ernest Piedras, director of the Competitive Intelligence Unit, commented that the additional resources should be used to increase numbers of staff members for administrative tasks and monitoring of operators.
Ifetel head Gabriel Contreras said last month that the new regulator, which was established in September, would ideally need some 3bn pesos though he ended up requesting 2.25bn pesos.
For 2013, the now defunct former telecoms regulator Cofetel received 658mn pesos. The significant increase in the budget is due to the new regulator's additional responsibilities and workload.
The immediate challenges Ifetel faces are: the auction of two new open TV channels, unbundling, creating a single concession license and taking action to curb the power of dominant players.
Cofetel had originally requested 3bn pesos, of which 2.2bn pesos were due to be assigned to subsidizing the switch to digital TV. However, after that responsibility was transferred to the transport and communications ministry SCT, it looked like Ifetel would end up with only approximately 700mn pesos for next year.
Former Cofetel board member Alexis Milo was quoted by El Universal as welcoming the news that the budget had almost tripled and that Cofetel's small budget had limited its ability to carry out all its duties.
"There were areas that Cofetel left pending like the analysis of the better use of spectrum, which could not be carried out due to a lack of resources," Milo said.
Ernest Piedras, director of the Competitive Intelligence Unit, commented that the additional resources should be used to increase numbers of staff members for administrative tasks and monitoring of operators.
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