Good practice

Telecomunicações Indígenas Comunitárias (TIC A.C.) – Redes Móveis Indígenas Comunitárias, Oaxaca

Mexico · Oaxaca de Juárez · See the Mexico profile

A TIC A.C. opera a maior rede móvel comunitária do mundo, cobrindo 63 localidades indígenas em cinco estados mexicanos; a sua concessão IFT de Operadora Social Indígena em 2016 foi inédita globalmente, servindo mais de 3.500 utilizadores diários a ~5.000 USD por comunidade.

Localidades indígenas abrangidas

3,500+

Utilizadores diários servidos

~5,000 USD

Custo operacional por comunidade

Telecomunicações Indígenas Comunitárias (TIC A.C.) – Redes Móveis Indígenas Comunitárias, 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

Uma cooperativa de rede móvel de propriedade comunitária que fornece telefonia a localidades indígenas do sul do México ao abrigo de uma concessão social indígena pioneira, atribuída pelo regulador IFT em 2016.

Results

Opera a maior rede móvel de propriedade comunitária do mundo, abrangendo 63 localidades indígenas em cinco estados mexicanos e servindo mais de 3.500 utilizadores diários a um custo operacional de cerca de 5.000 USD por comunidade.

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. Telecomunicações Indígenas Comunitárias (TIC A.C.) – Redes Móveis Indígenas Comunitárias, Oaxaca. Persistent ID: 200c73b8-0fdb-41e3-9f05-6651ac38dd83.

Export as decision brief (PDF)

Similar practices you may find useful

★ 96

Greenland Connect — Submarine Fibre Bringing Broadband to the Arctic

Greenland

A subsea fibre-optic cable network connecting Greenland to Iceland and Canada cut Nuuk's internet latency by ~500ms overnight in 2009 …

★ 96

Grameen Village Phone Programme

Bangladesh

Grameen Bank financed rural women to buy mobile phones on microcredit and resell calls to their villages. By 2006 the …

★ 68

POTRAZ Digital Centres – National Rural Digital Access Network, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

POTRAZ has commissioned 182 Community Information Centres and upgraded 98 to Digital Centres with Starlink broadband, while distributing 25,000+ computers …

★ 100

M-Pesa – Mobile Money as Financial and Digital Inclusion Infrastructure

Kenya

Safaricom's M-Pesa turned basic phones into bank accounts across Kenya. A landmark Science study found it lifted 194,000 households out …