Reuters reported that while speaking at GSMA’s M360 LATAM event in Mexico City, Gabriel Szekely, chief executive of Mexico's National Telecommunications Association (Anatel) said “[The government] does not have a specific vision for the 5G world to be implemented in Mexico.”
Anatel, who represent 90% of the added value that the telecommunications industry contributes to the Mexican economy, want to see the government act more pro-actively to connect manufacturing firms with telecoms providers. Doing so, Szekely believes, will boost 5G services and attracting more investment.
The call comes as Mexico seeks to capitalise on on-shoring opportunities, such as the establishment of a planned Tesla factory in Nuevo Laeon, near the US-Mexico border.
Nuevo Leon Economy Minister Ivan Rivas said in a video message that Tesla's operations in Mexico will depend on robust telecoms networks and artificial intelligence.
He agreed with Szekely that “It would be good to reflect on what we can do as a government at all levels” as this would attract more companies to set up in Mexico.
Better co-ordination between the government and telecom companies will also help with Mexico’s domestic infrastructure projects, such as the Inter-Oceanic Corridor, a rail network designed to move freight that could rival the Panama Canal.
Szekely also commented at the event that the government have not laid out clear plans as the telecom infrastructure required for the project, Reuters said.
AT&T Mexico recently began testing private 5G use cases in its Innovation Laboratory with partners including Qualcomm among others.
