Claudia Sheinbaum has proposed to the Congress of Mexico City a bill to guarantee free access to the Internet in public spaces in the metropolis.
The truth is that every modern city has free, open, and quality Internet access (high speed and without intermittents) in all public spaces, from airports and shopping centers, to squares and public transport such as subways.
This open Internet can be provided by local governments or privately financed so that people can navigate freely in crowded areas such as shopping malls or cultural spaces, search for information and share content.
In Mexico, access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), including broadband and the Internet, is a fundamental right enshrined since 2013 in the sixth article of the Constitution. This right of Internet access is universal (for everyone, without discrimination) and progressive (public policies are required to guarantee it over time).
The Constitution of Mexico City contemplates as part of the right to science and technological innovation that “there will be progressive free access to the Internet in all public spaces, public schools, government buildings and cultural venues.”
According to the National Survey on Availability and Use of Information Technologies in Homes 2021 by Inegi, the capital of the country is the federal entity with the highest percentage of Internet user population with 88.3%. Even in the most connected city in Mexico, a digital divide persists for 12% of the population that still does not have Internet access.
Sheinbaum’s initiative states that in order to guarantee the right of Internet access, the capital’s public administration “will favor the gradual and progressive deployment of its own infrastructure for the provision of free public Internet service.”
It will also privilege the connection in the towns, neighborhoods and communities with the greatest lag in Internet coverage and in public education, health, government offices, community centers, parks, public squares and public transport system buildings.
A positive aspect of the proposal is that the CDMX Expenditure Budget Project for each fiscal year will contemplate sufficient economic resources to guarantee the provision of Internet access service in public spaces.
The law details that the browsing speed may not be less than 3 Mbps, insufficient for the current type of Internet consumption. This must be fast, stable and secure enough to support videoconferences through platforms for distance work or education; to open mobility apps and request vehicles; access to educational portals with high definition videos and tutorials; optimal performance of social networks to upload videos and images in real time as an exercise of digital citizenship; to send emails with large attachments; to carry out government procedures without interruptions that allow uploading and downloading documents and to carry out financial transactions in an agile and secure way.
The proposal clarifies that as long as its own infrastructure is enabled, the government will enter into contracts with third parties (understood as Internet providers) to guarantee the exercise of this right. This point is problematic because the governments’ own connectivity infrastructure, that is, their own telecommunications networks, require large and permanent investments for the deployment, maintenance and technological modernization of the infrastructure.
Contracts with telecommunications operators, which have sufficient capital and experience to provide quality, safe, and resilient services, are preferable, since Mexico City is a seismic zone.
The Digital Agency for Public Innovation (ADIP), headed by José Antonio Peña Merino, will be in charge of designing CDMX’s connectivity and infrastructure policy. It will also be the authority responsible for coordinating the implementation of said policy, issuing administrative provisions, entering into agreements and contracts, installing the infrastructure in the public spaces of the capital’s government and the mayors’ offices, and operating the Internet access points.
The initiative states that the capital’s government and the mayor’s offices “may carry out and/or assist with the authorization and installation of infrastructure to provide free public Internet service in public spaces.” The authorization of infrastructure in the public spaces of the CDMX must be mandatory. One of the main impediments to the deployment of infrastructure, connectivity and the right of access to ICTs are the regulatory barriers imposed by mayors and municipalities in the country.
There are three problems associated with the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure: 1) the large number of procedures, permits and prerequisites for infrastructure installation; 2) the enormous differences between the written and unwritten rules from one municipality to another; 3) corruption to obtain rights of way.
The National Conference of Governors, including the CDMX Government Headquarters, has already received from the federal Economy, Communications and Transport Secretariats and the National Commission for Regulatory Improvement a set of recommendations for the deployment, use, maintenance and repair of telecommunications infrastructure that they should adopt.
Finally, the free public Internet service in CDMX will be governed by the principle of digital non-violence, the right to secure communications, safeguarding and protection of personal data, and non-collection of user data. However, it is delicate that the Secretariat of Citizen Security (SSC) of the capital has access to the infrastructure of the public Internet service to carry out its powers in the prevention of criminal behavior.
In the law itself, in the regulations and in the public policy for the implementation of the law, the intervention of the SSC should be limited to the infrastructure of the public Internet service only with a judicial order, to guarantee trust and that undue interventions do not occur.
Twitter: @beltmondi
[ad_2]
hartford car insurance shop car insurance best car insurance quotes best online car insurance get auto insurance quotes auto insurance quotes most affordable car insurance car insurance providers car insurance best deals best insurance quotes get car insurance online best comprehensive car insurance best cheap auto insurance auto policy switching car insurance car insurance quotes auto insurance best affordable car insurance online auto insurance quotes az auto insurance commercial auto insurance instant car insurance buy car insurance online best auto insurance companies best car insurance policy best auto insurance vehicle insurance quotes aaa insurance quote auto and home insurance quotes car insurance search best and cheapest car insurance best price car insurance best vehicle insurance aaa car insurance quote find cheap car insurance new car insurance quote auto insurance companies get car insurance quotes best cheap car insurance car insurance policy online new car insurance policy get car insurance car insurance company best cheap insurance car insurance online quote car insurance finder comprehensive insurance quote car insurance quotes near me get insurance