Mexico's mobile communications market, with more than 156 million active lines, — one of the largest in the world. Since the late 1980s, it has experienced technological leaps — from analogue to CDMA, GSM, 3G, 4G and 5G — and legislative reforms, including strict regulation after 2013. But behind the growth numbers there are other stories: the disappearance of brands that were once on everyone's lips.
Today, Mexico's mobile market is clearly dominated by Telcel (part of América Móvil, controlled by media mogul Carlos Slim). Movistar México, its historical rival, is likely to exit Mexico soon. And a number of other operators completely disappeared, remaining only part of the memories.
We will highlight companies that were once active in the Mexican mobile market but were acquired, integrated, or displaced.
Iusacell: the first operator of the power
Iusacell became the first mobile network in Mexico. Formally, Telcel started at about the same time (in 1989), however, it was Iusacell in the early 1990s that was perceived as the flagship of the newly emerging mobile market in Mexico.
The 1994 crisis was a turning point. Unlike Telcel, which relied on the mass prepaid product Amigo, Iusacell focused on high-income customers. This strategic decision reduced the base at a time when the market was beginning to grow exponentially at the expense of the middle and lower segments of consumers.
Accumulating debts and constant loss of subscribers forced Grupo IUSA to sell part of the company to Bell Atlantic, and later — Vodafone. In 2003, Ricardo Salinas Pliego acquired a majority stake in Iusacell for $10 million and merged it with his other operator, Unefon.
The final point was reached in 2014: Iusacell and Unefon were sold to AT&T Mexico for $2.5 billion (including licenses and 8.6 million subscribers). The brand disappeared, the assets became the foundation for AT&T's expansion in the country.
Iusacell — an example of how technological inertia and the wrong choice of target audience have the ability to account for leadership.
Nextel: the era of «push to talk»
Nextel México entered the market in 1998 and quickly filled the corporate communications niche. Its push-to-talk service (iDEN) became a symbol of business mobility in the early 2000s. For a decade, Nextel remained a «business» — with high customer loyalty and stable margins. At the same time, the iDEN technological model turned out to be a dead end: the network did not adapt to full-fledged 3G and 4G standards.
By 2013, the subscriber base began to decline, and financial performance worsened. In 2015, AT&T acquired Nextel Mexico for $1.875 billion. The brand disappeared, corporate radio communications gave way to packet data transmission.
It wasn't just the end of the company — it was the end of the technological era.
Pegaso: bet on football and seconds
Pegaso PCS emerged in the late 1990s with an aggressive marketing strategy and a strong presence in the football industry. The orange logo and per-second billing allowed us to quickly gain hundreds of thousands of subscribers. However, growth outpaced infrastructure prospects. The quality of the network was deteriorating, investments were lagging behind needs, and competitors were increasing pressure.
In 2002, Spain's Telefónica acquired 92% of Pegaso and integrated it into the Movistar brand. Pegaso's independent period was brief, but was an important stage for Telefónica's entry into the Mexican market.
Northern regional operators
In the late 1990s, regional players such as Cedetel, BajaCel, Norcel, and Movitel operated in border states. They operated primarily in analog and CDMA networks. Despite having a solid local user base, their reach was limited compared to Telcel and Iusacell, but upgrading to GSM required massive investment.
In 2000, the Spanish group Telefónica Móviles saw local operators as a chance to enter the Mexican market and acquired four operators for approximately $1.79 billion. Two years later the purchase of Pegaso followed. All brands were united under one — Movistar, which made it possible to unify the network and begin national expansion.
Regional operators have disappeared as independent players — a typical example of consolidation in a capital-intensive market.
Why did all these companies disappear?
The disappearance of all these companies is due to a combination of factors:
- Infrastructure capital intensity. Deploying next-generation networks requires billions of dollars in investment.
- Technological transitions. CDMA and iDEN could not compete with GSM and LTE.
- Regulatory changes. After the 2013 reform, the dominant operator received the status of “agent with significant market power,” which changed the rules of the game.
- Consolidation of capital. International groups have strengthened their presence through acquisitions.
- Mobile communications — market scale. Without a dense network and a sufficient subscriber portfolio, margins quickly shrink.
New chapter: virtual mobile operators
If the disappearance of old brands reflected the era of infrastructural struggle, then the current stage is associated with virtual operators (MVNOs). They operate without their own network, using the power of other operators Telcel, AT&T, Movistar or the state network Altán Redes. According to the Competitive Intelligence Unit, the share of virtual operators in Mexico increased from 10.7% in 2024 to 15.8% in 2025. This is a qualitative shift: virtual operators are no longer a niche product.
The most notable example — BAIT (Bodega Aurrera Internet and Telephony), owned by Walmart. By the third quarter of 2025, BAIT reached 23.5 million active lines, overtaking Movistar México and approaching AT&T.
Today, the Mexican mobile communications market is experiencing a new cycle of redistribution. But unlike the 1990s, the fight is not just over frequencies and towers, but over tariff models, sales channels and digital ecosystems. Those who don't scale or adapt to the next technology standard become part of history. Today's leaders appear resilient. But if history teaches us anything, it is that telecommunications are resilient — the concept is temporary.
Based on materialsExpansión