Mexico: Driving Innovation through Competition

I started in this industry in 1990; back then the marketplace was dramatically different. I witnessed first-hand the transformation of the telecommunications industry in the United States. As penetration of the Internet grew, it became evident that connectivity would be an engine of economic growth and social development.  I saw how the use of mobile Internet changed the way people communicated, played, worked, socialized and even reacted to global events.

But the pace of change has been dramatic at a global scale as well. In the past few weeks I’ve had the privilege to learn more about Mexico’s journey. So far, it is a success story that has a promising road ahead.

Two years ago, as the government set a bold plan for its telecommunications reforms, the majority of mobile internet access was at 2G speeds. Today, more than 84% of the population has access to 3G or 4G speeds. To put this in context, a larger percentage of the population in Mexico has access to 3G/4G mobile internet than the population of the United Kingdom does.^¡ A huge leapfrog in just 2 years!

Before we arrived in Mexico, smartphone adoption was approximately 34%. That has doubled in less than two years.¹ Consumers now have more choices than ever before and they are receiving better value in the offers. 

AT&T was a proud driver of this transformation. In 2015 we announced an investment commitment of US $3 billion dollars through the end of 2018. This was in addition to the US $4.4 billion already invested to acquire two companies. Through this process we integrated an ambitious, market-facing team that has done an amazing job.

The two companies we acquired covered less than 40 million people with 4G LTE combined. Today our more reliable, high-speed 4G LTE network covers more than 78M people. And we still have work to do. By the end of 2018, we will increase our coverage to reach 100M people.

We want to offer Mexico the most reliable network experience coupled with the best technology in the world. And our team is delivering.

For 2016 in total, we had a 38% increase in subscribers from the previous year, becoming the fastest growing wireless provider in Mexico.

When a market welcomes competition, the effects reach well beyond the consumers.

Today, we create nearly 40,000 jobs in Mexico of which 18,000 are direct employees of AT&T.  This team is critical to our success and we make sure they know how much their work is appreciated. For the second year in a row we have been recognized as a Great Place To Work®, ranked top 10 for IT, Telecom and gender equality and top 20 for millennials. Now, women hold 34% of leadership positions in the company, up from 10% when we started operations.

Our commitment to Mexico also means becoming part of this community. Knowing this, we have identified 5 social pillars that we believe AT&T can help advance through connectivity, technology and talent development initiatives. These pillars are: Education, Safety and Security, Accelerating Businesses, Health and Wellness and Environment.

In under two years we have witnessed the power of connectivity and its social impact, but there is still a long road to go. Mexico is facing a historic opportunity to drive an effective and sustained competitive environment that provides users with better services and benefits.

Being part of this transformation is proving to be one of the most interesting and fulfilling responsibilities of my career. As I begin to use this social media platform, I look forward to sharing with you the lessons and challenges that come my way, while I learn from the ones you all face every day.

Sincerely,

Kelly King.

To learn more about AT&T’s commitment to Mexico, visit: https://www.att.com.mx/noticias/att-ya-es-tiempo-de-algo-mejor.html​