Telecommunications, Universal Service and Poverty in Mexico: a Public Policy Assessment (1990–2008)

Abstract

This article analyzes the design and implementation of telecommunications service policies targeted at the poorest regions of Mexico (1990–2008). It begins by defining universal access and service policies, their economic and social rationale. Secondly, it discusses the scope of public policies on universal service provision designed by Mexican authorities to achieve the goal of universal access. Thirdly, the paper analyzes the distributive effects of this set of policies among the poorest sectors of the population. The sources on which this research was based were two national surveys: the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (2008), and the Household Survey of the Access and Use of Information Technologies (2007). The additional information on regional economic development was based on the poverty indexes by the national population council and economic information given by Mexico’s Census Bureau. Additional use was made of the annual reports prepared by Ministry of Communications, statistics published by the Federal Telecommunications Commission and official documents prepared by the government agencies. Finally, a series of in-depth interviews was conducted with the former representatives of the Office of Rural Telephony. Finally, the article discusses, in the light of available evidence, possible explanations for the apparent failure of the universal service policy that was implemented to bring at least basic voice services to Mexico’s neediest.