U.S. - Mexico Telecommunication Agreements

The United States welcomed senior Mexican telecommunication officials to Washington, June 23-24, for meetings of the U.S.–Mexico High Level Consultative Commission on Telecommunications.

The United States and Mexico resolved a substantial AM radio interference problem that had adversely affected millions of Americans. As a result, the Mexican Ministry of Communications and Transportation required four AM radio stations in the Mexican state of Baja California to reduce power or otherwise bring their operations into compliance with bilateral agreements governing AM broadcasts along our common border. This has brought relief to the U.S. broadcasting industry and some 29 million listeners who were affected by the interference. For its part, the United States has pledged to review its own radio licenses to ensure that U.S. stations do not cause harmful interference inside Mexico.

Remarking on the U.S.-Mexican accord, the U.S. Coordinator for International Communications & Information Policy, Ambassador David Gross, said: "Our success in resolving the radio interference dispute reflects good will and hard work on both sides of the border. In particularly, the Mexican Ministry of Communications and Transportation and Federal Communications Commission worked tirelessly and imaginatively to craft pragmatic solutions that have eliminated serious interference from three Mexican stations, and headed off interference from a fourth that was about to come on the air. In addition to superb staff work from the Federal Communications Commission, Chairman Michael Powell, Commissioner Michael Copps, and Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy personally and constructively engaged their Mexican counterparts so that the broader U.S.-Mexican telecommunications relationship is now on a much stronger footing."

The United States and Mexico also adopted a new Emergency Action Plan to eliminate radio interference in public-safety communications systems in the border area. Cooperation in advance of this meeting has already allowed firefighters battling brush fires in California to secure temporary augmentation of critical radio spectrum from Mexico. The United States and Mexico also discussed satellite issues; broadband infrastructure and competition; ultra high frequency spectrum and new technologies; community connectivity indicators (teledensity and Internet penetration); as well as digital television.

The United States welcomes the successful outcome of the High Level consultative Commission on Telecommunications meeting, enhancing our already broad bilateral relationship with Mexico.

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