State-owned Chinese telecom gets 30-year-permit to operate in Mexico

October 21, 2022

China Unicom international partners' meeting — The Hong Kong-based company initially will provide tech services – including dedicated links and data transmission capacity. Photos: China Unicom Global

A Chinese state-owned telecommunications company has obtained permission to operate in Mexico for 30 years.

The Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) has granted China United Network Communications Group, known as China Unicom, a license to operate here, the newspaper El Economista reported Wednesday.

It said that the license allows the Hong Kong-based business – one of China’s largest telecommunications companies – to enter the fixed and mobile telephone markets in Mexico.

However, China Unicom initially intends to provide technological services – including dedicated links and data transmission capacity – to customers including corporate businesses, El Economista said, adding that its competitors will be firms such as Alestra, Axtel, Telmex, MCM, Bestel and Totalplay.

Chen Zhongyue, Exec Director and President China Unicom — Chen Zhongyue, China Unicom’s executive director and president, runs one of China’s biggest telecommunications companies.

Citing IFT documents, El Economista also said that the Chinese company is interested in developing its own fiber-optic networks. In that area, it would be a competitor of companies such as Century Link, Estevez.Jor and Neutral Networks.

China Unicom, which has some 155 million mobile customers in China, submitted an application for a permit to operate in Mexico in March, and IFT approved it in July. However, the regulator has only just made its decision public, the newspaper said.

China Unicom’s authority to operate in the United States was revoked by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in January due to national security concerns. The FCC last month named China Unicom and two other Chinese telecommunications companies as threats to U.S. national security as they are subject to Chinese government influence and control.