Mexico plans to auction up to 60 MHz of spectrum dedicated to industrial networks, according to a report by Telecompaper, marking the country's clearest step yet toward licensed private wireless for factories, logistics hubs and utilities.

The 60 MHz ceiling defines the maximum amount of frequency the Mexican state will release in a tender process aimed specifically at enterprises and industrial users rather than nationwide consumer mobile operators. The report does not yet specify which bands will be offered, the reserve prices, or the auction date, leaving the practical detail to a tender dossier that regulators still have to publish.

Why does a dedicated industrial auction matter?

Industrial or private network spectrum has become a distinct category in Latin American and European spectrum policy over the past five years. Instead of relying on a mobile operator's public network, manufacturers, ports, mines and energy companies can hold their own licences and build 4G or 5T networks tailored to machinery control, automation and closed-campus coverage.

Countries that have taken this route have generally allocated slices of mid-band spectrum — often in the 3.5 GHz range used for 5G, or lower bands suited to wide-area industrial sites. Germany's pioneer model, in which enterprises can apply for local licences in the 3.7–3.8 GHz range, has become the reference case, and several Latin American regulators have since examined similar frameworks.

For Mexico, an auction of up to 60 MHz signals that the regulator intends to make licensed industrial access predictable rather than leaving enterprises to negotiate case-by-case deals with the major carriers.

Who could bid?

The likely bidders fall into three groups:

• Large industrial enterprises in manufacturing, energy, mining and logistics that want to run their own networks;
• Mobile operators and neutral-host providers offering managed private-network services;
• System integrators and vendors bundling spectrum, radios and industrial applications.

The Telecompaper report does not state whether licences will be national, regional or local in scope — a design choice that will largely determine which of these groups can realistically participate. Local licensing favours factories and ports; national licensing favours operators and large integrators.

What questions remain open?

Several commercial and regulatory details will shape the outcome:

• Which band the 60 MHz will come from, and whether it is 5G-suitable mid-band spectrum;
• Licence duration and coverage obligations attached to the concessions;
• Reserve prices, which will decide whether mid-sized manufacturers can afford to bid directly;
• Safeguards against spectrum hoarding by parties without deployment plans.

Until the tender terms appear, the 60 MHz figure stands as the headline commitment. The Mexican telecom regulator, the Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT), has historically published auction bases before opening bidding windows, so market participants can expect the technical annexes to precede any formal call for bids.

How does this fit Mexico's wider spectrum picture?

Mexico has spent recent years rebalancing its mobile market after the landmark 2014 telecom reform ended America Móvil's preponderance designation and opened the door to AT&T's entry. Spectrum policy has been a central lever in that effort. An industrial allocation adds a new layer: it targets enterprise digitalisation and Industry 4.0 investment rather than consumer competition.

The move also aligns Mexico with a regional trend. Regulators across Latin America are weighing private-network licensing as manufacturing hubs seek deterministic wireless connectivity for automation, autonomous equipment and real-time monitoring.

For vendors of private 5G — Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei and a growing field of specialised integrators — a Mexican tender would open a new addressable market among the country's automotive plants, ports and energy installations.

The next concrete milestone will be the publication of the auction bases, where the band plan, licence areas and minimum prices will show whether the 60 MHz on offer is a genuine industrial allocation or a narrower pilot.