Good practice

Telecomunicaciones Indígenas Comunitarias (TIC A.C.) – Redes Móviles Indígenas Comunitarias, Oaxaca

Mexico · Oaxaca de Juárez · See the Mexico profile

TIC A.C. opera la mayor red móvil comunitaria del mundo, cubriendo 63 localidades indígenas en cinco estados de México; su concesión IFT de Operadora Social Indígena en 2016 fue una primera mundial, sirviendo a 3.500+ usuarios diarios a ~5.000 USD por comunidad.

Localidades indígenas cubiertas

3,500+

Usuarios diarios atendidos

~5,000 USD

Coste operativo por comunidad

Telecomunicaciones Indígenas Comunitarias (TIC A.C.) – Redes Móviles Indígenas Comunitarias, Oaxaca

Details

Maturity: Established
Promoter: Telecomunicaciones Indígenas Comunitarias A.C. (TIC A.C.) / Rhizomatica
Period: 2012–present
Keywords: community networks, indigenous rights, rural connectivity, telecommunications, cooperative

Context

Una cooperativa de red móvil de propiedad comunitaria que presta telefonía a localidades indígenas del sur de México al amparo de una concesión social indígena pionera, otorgada por el regulador IFT en 2016.

Results

Opera la mayor red móvil de propiedad comunitaria del mundo, abarcando 63 localidades indígenas en cinco estados mexicanos y atendiendo a más de 3.500 usuarios diarios con un coste operativo de unos 5.000 USD por comunidad.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-06-27
Telecomunicaciones Indígenas Comunitarias A.C. (TIC A.C.) / Rhizomatica — accessed 2026-06-27
Rhizomatica official site — accessed 2026-06-27
IADB Social Digital guide — accessed 2026-06-27
1 World Connected project profile — accessed 2026-06-27
WSIS Prizes 2019 entry — accessed 2026-06-27
The Wire Science feature — accessed 2026-06-27
GISWatch Mexico country report — accessed 2026-06-27

Attachments

Source image

Quality score: 100/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported

Top 1% in this catalogue (573 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Innovation level5/5

First community-owned indigenous mobile operator with a formal national regulatory concession globally; open-source hardware/software model (OpenBTS) replicated across Latin America and Africa.

Sustainability (ongoing)1/1

Self-financing via call revenue (60% reinvested) since 2013, with formal NGO status (TIC A.C.), ITU partnership, and World Bank/IADB recognition ensuring long-term institutional anchoring.

Evaluation evidence1/1

Documented by IADB Social Digital Library, 1 World Connected, WSIS Stocktaking 2019, peer-reviewed academic papers, and ongoing CITSAC research centre monitoring.

Demonstrated reach1/1

63 indigenous localities across 5 states, 3,500+ daily users in communities with zero prior commercial coverage, plus 20 trained replicators from 11 Latin American countries.

Documented learning1/1

Open-source toolkit, 50+ community promoter training, ITU regional knowledge transfer, CITSAC systematic documentation, and IADB guide for indigenous connectivity policy.

Cite this

Evidoria. Telecomunicaciones Indígenas Comunitarias (TIC A.C.) – Redes Móviles Indígenas Comunitarias, Oaxaca. Persistent ID: 200c73b8-0fdb-41e3-9f05-6651ac38dd83.

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