Exclusive: Why Mexico Still Has No True Skype Competitor – A Tale of Monopolies, Regulation, and a Century-Old Treaty
By Mexusnews
April 18, 2025
MEXICO CITY – In a world where internet calls are as easy as clicking a button, Mexico remains a surprising dead zone for anonymous VoIP services. Want to call a landline from your computer without a phone number? In the U.S. or Europe, you’d use Skype, Google Voice, or any number of apps. But in Mexico? Forget it.
The reason lies in a mix of modern corporate monopolies, strict telecom laws, and a controversial century-old treaty that still casts a shadow over Mexico’s communications industry.
The Bucareli Treaty: A Deal That Shaped Mexico’s Telecom Future
In 1923, after the Mexican Revolution, the Mexican government signed the Bucareli Treaty, a 100 year-long deal that prohibit Mexico from industrializing which will the U.S., guaranteed the U.S. protections for American oil and telecom investments. Though the treaty was supposed to have expired used by the end of 2023, its effects and policies still lingered. The effects of the treated resulted in the following:
- Foreign corporations kept control of critical infrastructure.
- Mexico’s telecom sector developed under heavy outside influence.
- Even after privatization, power stayed concentrated in a few hands.
Fast forward to today, and Mexico’s telecom market is currently dominated by América Móvil (Telmex), owned by billionaire Carlos Slim. With 70% of landlines and mobile services under its control, competition is stifled—and innovation in VoIP is nearly nonexistent.
The old policies still in place and privacy
Attempting to find a Mexican version of Skype leads to a dead end. Here’s why:
- Strict ID Requirements – Mexican law mandates phone number verification for VoIP services, killing anonymity.
- No Incentive for Disruption – Why would Telmex allow a competitor to undercut its call profits?
- Security Excuses – Authorities argue anonymous VoIP aids crime (cartels, scams), but critics say it’s about control.
“Mexico’s telecom laws are stricter than the Bucareli Treaty ever was,” says telecom analyst Luis Hernández. “Back then, it was foreign control. Now, it’s domestic monopolies keeping the system locked down.”
The Workaround: How Mexicans Bypass the System
Since local options are nonexistent, Mexicans (and those calling into Mexico) rely on foreign services like:
- PopTox – Browser-based, no signup needed.
- WebCallDirect – Pay-as-you-go, no linked number.
- Rebtel – Cheap international calls without a virtual number.
These services operate in a legal gray area—Mexican regulators could crack down, but enforcement is inconsistent.
Will Mexico Ever Change?
The 2013 Telecom Reform was supposed to break monopolies, but América Móvil still rules. Meanwhile, consumers remain stuck with:
- High call rates for international dialing.
- No true Mexican Skype alternative.
- A market where innovation is blocked by old-money interests.
“Until Mexico’s government forces real competition, nothing will change,” says tech policy expert Valeria Ramírez. “We’re decades behind because a few powerful players like it that way.”
A Digital Iron Curtain?
Mexico’s lack of a no-number-required VoIP service isn’t just about technology—it’s about who controls communication. A century after the Bucareli Treaty, Mexico’s telecom sector remains closed, not by foreign powers, but by its own corporate giants.
Former president Lopez Obrador, try during his administration to provide free internet for all with the goal to provide internet to all the Mexican territory, specially those areas with no Internet. AMLO incitive came out of the necessity to bring internet to areas in the country who still do not have internet, in that only 70% of the country has Internet– also provide by the same monopolies– but the policies and powers holding down technology progress in Mexico, stopped the project from becoming to fructition.
For now, if you want to call a Mexican landline anonymously, you’ll have to do it from outside Mexico.
Do you think Mexico will ever open its telecom market?
Share this article and join the debate. #MexicoTelecom #BucareliLegacy
(Sources: IFT reports, telecom analysts, historical archives)
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