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Description
In the past decade, global telecommunication advancements have largely taken place in mobile telecom, allowing consumers across the globe to radically alter their lifestyles and communicate with the rest of the world within seconds. The US and Mexico have also experienced this global trend of a rapidly growing mobile industry. However, while the use of mobile service has increased in both countires, prices when calling across the US-Mexico border have remained high. This thesis will explain the economic and political factors that have maintained high rates while comparing the NAFTA and the European Union experience. The first chapter will give a global picture of how mobile telecom has grown into a popular commodity and why international roaming rates are important for consumers in the US and Mexico. The second chapter will provide a review of the literature on international roaming and what several international academics have written in regards to the causes and solutions for this issue. The third chapter will discuss in detail the research methodology, how data and the thesis results were obtained while the fourth chapter presents the thesis results in full detail. The fifth chapter will discuss the low competitive levels of the Mexican mobile markets by highlighting in detail the structure and role it has played in maintaining high consumer costs that have negatively affected the economy. The sixth chapter will provide a historical context as to how the Mexican market evolved into an uncompetitive industry during the first wave of President Salinas' reforms of the 1990s. The final chapter will present current Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto's telecom reforms and the impact it could potentially have on consumers. The mobile boom experienced in the last decade has opened up new markets, created more employment, and benefitted economies in many positive aspects. The US and Mexico should both take advantage of this and favor competitive economic and political structures that favor consumer welfare in order to fully benefit from this global trend.
