Cofetel is Mexico's equivalent to the American Federal Communications Commission

When Big Telecom companies deliver customers little service, Mexico is one step ahead of the United States in hitting bad actors right where it hurts — in their wallets.

Mexico’s telecommunications watchdog Cofetel announced it was recommending fines for a cell phone company that dropped more calls than it completed and a cable system that promised upgrades but delivered weeks of service outages instead.

Telcel/America Movil, Mexico’s largest cellular provider controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, was called out for dropping calls at a rate that would make AT&T customers wince.  Cofetel found more than half of all wireless calls placed over Telcel went nowhere, forcing customers to redial, sometimes repeatedly.

Cofetel reported the carrier blamed a “glitch” it failed to inform the regulator of back in November.

Cablevision (no relation to the American company of the same name) was called out for launching a system “upgrade” that left thousands of Mexico City customers with no cable or broadband service for weeks between October and November.

Cablevision's "upgrades" = outages

Cofetel said the cable company failed to get permission for the upgrade, which the regulator would have reviewed before granting permission.

Cofetel lacks the power to directly fine offenders, but has recommended the communications ministry consider imposing close to the maximum fines allowed, ranging between $93,000-$187,000 in American dollars.  The regulatory body recognizes the fines may not deliver much of a sting to either America Movil ($1.85 billion in third quarter earnings) or Televisa ($174 million in the last quarter), which is why is it asking lawmakers to authorize much higher fines for offenders.

Cofetel caught Telcel dropping more calls than it completed.

For Mexicans accustomed to bad service, major fines could provoke relief.  Mexican telecommunications companies have notoriously poor service records.  Service disruptions from light rain or wind can disrupt service across large neighborhoods.

The United States has systematically removed government oversight from telecommunications providers, suspecting consumers will simply switch providers if one fails to deliver good service.  But if both companies fail, Americans often find they have little recourse.