Mexico is a large and developing middle-income market, making information and communication technology (ICT) products and services a best prospect industry sector.

Overview

Internet and IT Services

There are 38 IT clusters throughout the country offering software development, call centers, high tech manufacturing, and engineering services. Some states have presented plans to develop new technology clusters as part of President Lopez Obrador’s ambitious strategy to develop the country’s southern region. The Mexican IT market suffered an important deceleration in 2022 due to economic conditions, regulatory concerns, and COVID-19 spending trends. The market had a 9.4 percent growth in 2022 versus 19.5 percent in 2021. The Mexican IT market is expected to accelerate in 2023, driven by higher private sector investment and the current peso appreciation. Specialists predict a nine percent growth in 2023. The López Obrador administration’s austerity measures continue to impact public spending on technology. During 2022, some international companies started operations of new data storage facilities in Mexico. Local media reports yearly underspending of around 30 percent of the federal budget allocated to IT. The National Digital Strategy Office coordinates all federal public procurement of IT products and services and has published guidance for the use of IT in the public administration that prioritizes in-country data localization for government procurement processes.

According to a study published by the media intelligence firm Meltwater, Mexico is one of the fastest growing mobile app markets in the world. There were over five billion mobile app downloads in Mexico in 2022, representing a 5.6 percent annual increase. Mexican users spent USD 711.4 million in app stores in 2022, USD 211.4 million more than in 2021. Specialists predict that total revenue in the Mexican apps market will reach an annual grow rate of over eight percent by 2027, resulting in a projected market value of USD 3.6 billion.

Cybersecurity

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA), particularly the Digital Trade Chapter, commits signatories to adopt risk-based cybersecurity mechanisms, collaborate in building cyber incident response capabilities, ​strengthen collaboration, ​and manage risks​.  

The Government of Mexico (GOM) has been subject to several hackings, including Mexico’s National Security Agency and the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Telecommunications, and Transport. Despite that, the federal authorities have allocated less than 0.5 percent of the total IT budget to cybersecurity. Mexico has not enacted cybersecurity legislation and there is no single competent authority responsible for administering cybersecurity policies. The Senate is evaluating several cybersecurity law proposals.

Mexico ranks 52 out of 182 countries in terms of vulnerability to cyberattacks and is the most attacked country in Latin America. Revenue in the cybersecurity market is projected to reach USD 2.16 billion in 2023, driven by private sector investment.​ The largest market within cybersecurity is security services with a projected market value of USD 1.32 billion in 2023.​

International cybersecurity companies have a presence in Mexico, and the market is competitive. Businesses prefer local presence and support, and the market is brand-driven and looks for state-of-the-art solutions. Some medium-sized companies are still in the early adoption stages.   

Mexico’s federal budget imposes a value added tax (VAT) withholding on non-resident digital service providers in Mexico and includes an enforcement mechanism to ensure compliance. All non-resident digital service providers operating in Mexico are required to obtain a tax ID number, register with the Tax Administrative Service (Servicio de Administración Tributaria or SAT), and charge and collect VAT from customers. For more information visit SAT’s website.

Telecommunications Services and Equipment

For the past decade, the Mexican telecommunications market has consistently outpaced the growth of the overall economy, driven in large part by mobile telephones, broadband services, and broadcasting. According to the Mexican Institute of Telecommunications, in 2022 Mexico had over 130 million active wireless lines and over 113 million of those had Internet access. It is expected that there will be over 138 million active wireless lines by the end of 2023. America Móvil dominates the market with a sixty-two percent share in terms of number of lines compared to Telefónica (17 percent) and AT&T (15.6 percent). Virtual Mobile Operators (VMOs) account for five percent of the market. Walmart’s VMO has shown significant growth and accounts for 2.4 percent of the market. The three main operators have launched 5G commercial services in the country’s main cities. America Movil’s Telcel and AT&T are working to expand their current coverage, but the upgrade is expected to be slow. 5G is expected to account for around 43 percent of the market by 2032. Telefonica has offloaded its Mexican mobile assets and has a network sharing agreement with AT&T. Telmex is the dominant player in fixed broadband with a 41.8 percent market share in terms of subscriptions compared to Televisa at 25.2 percent, and Megacable at 14.9 percent. The telecommunications Mexican market grew by 4.5 percent during 2022.

In July 2021, Grupo Altan, the consortium responsible for deploying and administering the National Shared Wholesale Network (NSWN), known as Red Compartida, filed for bankruptcy protection. In June 2022, Altan received USD 388 million in the form of a credit package from Mexico’s development bank and stakeholders. This operation transferred majority ownership of the shared network to the GOM. The Red Compartida had pledged to provide coverage to 92 percent of Mexico’s population by 2021, however it has requested an extension on two occasions. The new commitment contemplates reaching the promised coverage by 2024. The Federal Institute of Telecommunications (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones or IFT) was expected to auction 5G spectrum in late 2022, however it has been delayed to 2023.

 Table 1: Mexico Internet and IT Service Market Indicators
(Figures in Millions)

Source: INEGI

Table 2: Mexico IT Market Overview
(Figures in USD Billions)

Source: BMI Research

Leading Sub-Sectors

Like the United States, Mexico’s ICT sector is extraordinarily dynamic and diverse. We see opportunities for U.S. companies in the following sub-sectors:

• Cybersecurity
• Mobile payments and mobile apps
• Remote work solutions
• Data center infrastructure
• Integration services
• Cloud computing
• Cloud security services
• Collaboration tools
• Internet of things
• Cloud analytics
• Business intelligence software

Opportunities

The main opportunities for IT products and services are in sectors intensifying the use of IT and solutions that support operations, productivity, and cost reduction for manufacturing, retail, and financial services. Opportunities include cloud computing solutions, cybersecurity, mobile applications, software as a service (SaaS), IT administrative and consulting services, data centers, automation, and Artificial Intelligence.

Resources

Events

• Expo IntegraTec, August 16-18, 2023, World Trade Center. Mexico City
• InfoSecurity Mexico, October 4-5, 2023, Centro CitiBanamex. Mexico City
• Andicom Mexico, November 21-23, 2023, Expo Santa Fe. Mexico City
• Talent Land Mexico, April 1-4, Expo Guadalajara. Guadalajara, Jalisco

Contacts

For more information on Internet, IT services, and telecommunications market in Mexico, please contact:

Adriana Carrillo

Commercial Specialist

U.S. Commercial Service —Mexico City

Tel.: +52 (55) 5080-2000 ext. 5215

Adriana.Carrillo@trade.gov