As part of the public consultation on the spectrum tender for smart private networks, small telecommunications operators questioned the design of the bidding process proposed by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (Comisión Reguladora de Telecomunicaciones, CRT).

They warned that dividing Mexico into 242 Basic Service Units (Unidades Básicas de Servicio, UBS) could drive up the cost of regional projects, limit their ability to participate and make infrastructure deployment in rural communities more difficult.

The controversy is part of public consultation CRT-REF-01-2026, which concerns the allocation of frequencies for fixed radio links in the 10.5 GHz and 38 GHz bands, which are used to carry traffic between network points.

The CRT proposes awarding frequencies through 20-year concessions. In the 10.5 GHz band, it plans to offer paired blocks of 10+10 MHz and 15+15 MHz, while the 38 GHz spectrum will be offered in paired 14+14 MHz blocks.