The consumer uses the infrastructure, but doesn't necessarily pay for it.
Across Latin America, the digital infrastructure meant to carry the region into the future is straining under the weight of regulatory complexity, spectrum scarcity, and a widening gap between the data demands placed on networks and the revenues operators can sustain. At a major industry conference in Mexico City, the leaders of AT&T México and Telecom Argentina gave voice to a structural tension that is quietly determining which communities will participate in the next era of connectivity — and which will not. Their message was not one of despair, but of conditional possibility: the technology exists, the need is undeniable, and what remains is the political will to clear the path.
- Latin America's telecom networks are buckling under exponential data growth while operator revenues stagnate, creating a financial squeeze that threatens the very investment needed to modernize infrastructure.
- Mexico's spectrum scarcity, device taxes, and permit timelines of one to two years are actively slowing 5G deployment and pricing out the populations that connectivity is supposed to serve.
- Telecom executives warn that hyperscalers and digital platforms are extracting enormous value from networks they do not fund, leaving operators to absorb costs without proportional returns.
- Regional scale and macroeconomic stability have emerged as prerequisites for long-term investment, with América Móvil cited as a model of the size needed to survive the industry's transformation.
- The 2026 World Cup in Mexico is being positioned as a potential inflection point — a deadline that could force alignment on spectrum auctions, coverage programs, and permit reform before the moment passes.
In Mexico City, two of Latin America's most prominent telecom executives used the M360 and CLTD 2026 conference to name what the industry had long been circling: the region's digital infrastructure is breaking under the weight of what it's being asked to carry.
Mónica Aspe of AT&T México described a country caught between ambition and obstruction. Spectrum is scarce and expensive. Smartphones are taxed as luxuries rather than recognized as tools of economic participation. And deploying fiber or mobile towers can take one to two years to permit — a timeline incompatible with the pace of digital demand. She welcomed a forthcoming initiative to streamline permits across government levels, but was unambiguous: administrative complexity had to fall, or networks simply could not expand fast enough.
Roberto Nobile of Telecom Argentina arrived at the same wall from a different direction. Data traffic is growing exponentially, driven by cloud services, streaming, and AI — but operator revenues are not keeping pace. The companies building and maintaining the infrastructure are not the ones capturing its value. Nobile argued that without financially strong operators, the entire digital ecosystem loses its foundation. Scale, he said, had become essential — not just for efficiency, but for the long-term certainty that makes decade-long infrastructure investments viable.
Both executives nonetheless saw a window of opportunity. Aspe pointed to the 2026 World Cup as a potential catalyst, comparing it to South Korea's 2018 Winter Olympics — a global moment that could justify and accelerate the infrastructure push if spectrum auctions, coverage expansion, and regulatory simplification aligned in time. Nobile added that artificial intelligence stood ready to transform not just network operations, but customer experience and business productivity across the region. The technology was there. What remained was the regulatory environment willing to make the investment worth the risk.
In Mexico City, two of Latin America's largest telecom executives sat down to discuss a problem that has quietly shaped the region's digital future: the infrastructure is breaking under the weight of what it's being asked to carry.
Mónica Aspe, who runs AT&T México, and Roberto Nobile, leading Telecom Argentina, were speaking at the M360 and CLTD 2026 conference when they laid out the structural obstacles holding back the region's networks. The diagnosis was familiar but urgent. High spectrum costs. Regulatory complexity. Legal uncertainty. The inability to operate at scale. These weren't abstract policy complaints—they were the concrete reasons why 5G deployment remained patchy across Latin America, why artificial intelligence infrastructure lagged, and why the telecom industry itself was struggling to stay solvent.
Aspe spoke first about Mexico's particular crisis. The country faced what she called a "brutal scarcity" of available spectrum, and what spectrum did exist carried prices that made it nearly impossible for operators to build sustainably. But the problem went deeper than that. Mexico had also imposed special taxes on mobile devices, treating smartphones as luxuries rather than tools of economic participation. The effect was simple: people who could least afford connectivity faced the highest barriers to entry. She framed it plainly: "The idea is to make connectivity accessible and lower the barrier to entry for devices, but it doesn't help to put special taxes on smartphones as if they were a problem instead of a solution."
Then there was the bureaucracy. Getting permission to deploy fiber optic cable or build mobile towers could take one to two years. Aspe saw hope in an upcoming initiative from Norma Solano, the head of Mexico's telecom regulator, to streamline permits across different levels of government. But she was clear about what needed to happen: the administrative complexity had to fall. Without it, the networks couldn't expand fast enough to meet demand.
Nobile approached the problem from a different angle, but arrived at the same wall. Telecom operators were caught in a squeeze. Data traffic was exploding—driven by cloud services, streaming platforms, and artificial intelligence applications—but operator revenues weren't growing at anything close to the same pace. The consumer using the infrastructure wasn't necessarily the one paying for it. The hyperscalers and digital platforms were extracting enormous value from networks that telecom companies had to build and maintain. Operators had responded by cutting costs and chasing efficiency, but there was a limit to how far that could go. "Without strong operators, there's no way to sustain ecosystem growth," Nobile said.
Scale had become everything. Nobile pointed to América Móvil as an example of a regional player with enough size and negotiating power to weather the transformation. But scale required stability—macroeconomic stability, institutional strength, the kind of long-term certainty that allowed companies to plan investments eight or ten years out. He posed the question directly: "How do we make sure countries sustain growth over time so that everything we invest in is actually viable?"
Yet both executives saw opportunity in the wreckage. Latin America was positioned to deploy 5G at scale, to expand coverage into underserved areas, and to integrate artificial intelligence into networks and services. Aspe suggested that Mexico could use the 2026 World Cup as a catalyst for digital transformation the way South Korea had used the 2018 Winter Olympics—a global event that justified the infrastructure investment and accelerated the timeline. If Mexico could align 5G spectrum auctions, coverage expansion programs, and permit simplification, the combination could fundamentally reshape how companies operated and how public services were managed.
Nobile added that artificial intelligence would do more than optimize network operations. It would transform customer experience, content generation, and business productivity across the region. The infrastructure was there to be built. The technology was ready. What was missing was the regulatory environment that would make the investment worth the risk.
Notable Quotes
The idea is to make connectivity accessible and lower the barrier to entry for devices, but it doesn't help to put special taxes on smartphones as if they were a problem instead of a solution.— Mónica Aspe, AT&T México CEO
Without strong operators, there's no way to sustain ecosystem growth.— Roberto Nobile, Telecom Argentina CEO
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why are these executives so focused on regulatory relief right now? Isn't that always what business leaders ask for?
It is, but the squeeze they're describing is real and specific. Data traffic is growing exponentially—AI, cloud services, streaming—but telecom revenues are flat. They're being asked to build more infrastructure while making less money. That's not sustainable.
So they're saying the platforms—Google, Meta, the cloud companies—are using their networks without paying for them?
Not exactly without paying, but not proportionally to the value they extract. A consumer streams video all day on a telecom network, but Netflix or YouTube captures most of the revenue. The telecom company bears the infrastructure cost.
And the spectrum scarcity in Mexico—is that a real constraint or just expensive?
Both. Mexico genuinely doesn't have much spectrum available, and what exists is priced so high that operators struggle to afford it. Then the government adds taxes on the devices themselves, which pushes people away from buying smartphones in the first place. It's a policy contradiction.
The 2026 World Cup angle—is that realistic? Can a sporting event really drive infrastructure investment?
It happened in South Korea in 2018. A major global event creates political will and justifies spending that might otherwise seem excessive. It's a forcing function. But only if the government aligns the policies—spectrum auctions, permit streamlining—at the same time.
What happens if these countries don't make those changes?
The networks stay fragmented. 5G deployment slows. AI infrastructure lags. And the operators keep getting squeezed between rising costs and flat revenues. Eventually, investment dries up.