A tender that only lasted 15 days
e-SIM cards, also known as virtual chips, are the digital version of traditional data SIM cards. These cards operate through a microchip installed in mobile phones, allowing the use of multiple telephone numbers belonging to different companies.
Among the technical characteristics of the e-SIMs requested by CFE-TEIT in the tender are that the chips are compatible with the 4G, 3G and 2G generation networks, as well as functional in the 700 MHz spectrum band, that is, , the band used by Altán Redes.
Although CFE Telecom’s objective is to provide services in areas without telecom operators, they have requested e-SIM cards that are normally used for international roaming. This means that users would no longer need to purchase a SIM card from a foreign operator when traveling abroad, as the e-SIM allows data to be connected and downloaded.
For the general director of the Digital Policy Law consultancy, Jorge Bravo, it is “contradictory” that CFE Telecom is interested in e-SIM cards, since this type of service does not fit into its target market of offering cheaper services in collaboration with the Altan network. However, he raises the possibility that CFE Telecom has a study that supports the need for this type of chip.
“It seems that e-SIM cards are not the market for CFE Telecom, which seeks to offer a cheaper service with an Altán network, but this must be said by the company itself,” says Bravo.
In the tender, which lasted only 15 days, Altán Redes and the German firm Giesecke+Devrient Mobile Security TCD México competed, dedicated to selling and manufacturing bank, identification and transport payment cards, as well as SIM cards for telephony.
This company was the only one that sent CFE Telecom questions regarding the technical requirements for e-SIM cards, such as the demand for this type of chip for the next three years or whether a 5G card would eventually be required, among others. .
But finally CFE Telecomunicaciones Internet para Todos ruled in favor of Altán Redes, arguing that the company’s proposal met the legal, administrative and technical requirements. Each e-SIM card will cost 20 pesos. However, in the bidding documents, the CFE subsidiary company never broke down the economic proposal of the German company to corroborate that Altán’s proposal was indeed the most economical and technically suitable.
The contract signed between CFE Telecom and Altán Redes for the delivery of e-SIM cards is confidential, stating that “the provider may not disclose through publications, conferences, reports or any other way, the information provided by the company , nor the data or results obtained from the acquisition of the goods that are the subject of this Technical Annex, without prior written authorization”, the agreement document states.
For Bravo, the fact that the tender documents never show the economic offer that the German company sent to CFE Telecom demonstrates a lack of transparency. “This type of evidence is necessary to demonstrate that, indeed, Altán Redes had a better financial proposal.”
The conflict of interest
The conclusion of the contract between CFE Telecom and Altán Redes raises the possibility of a conflict of interest, since their relationship now implies a client-supplier dynamic, while at the same time they are partners thanks to the infrastructure and revenue sharing agreement for the leasing of the network to Mobile Virtual Operators.
Last year, after the bankruptcy process, Altán Redes reached an agreement with CFE Telecom. This CFE subsidiary became an important ally of Altán to expand its network and achieve its coverage objectives, through the deployment of 5,500 towers, equipment and fiber optics. This deployment will require an investment of 30,000 million pesos. The resulting infrastructure will be used by the Red Compartida so that the MVNOs can lease it.
In addition, a revenue sharing agreement was established. This implies that the benefits generated by the leasing of CFE Telecom towers and equipment by the MVNOs of the Red Compartida will be shared between both companies.
Bravo, who is also an expert in telecommunications, sees in the recent agreement reached between the two companies a strategy to obtain mutual benefits: CFE Telecom could receive preferential treatment as a client by Altán Redes, while the Red Compartida company expands its user base, which drives its main business engine.