Mexico City, July 1 – Sistema Regional de Televisión, A.C., the pioneering civil organization granted a spectrum concession for a social television channel in Mexico City, has been authorized to switch its transmission frequency. This move aims to enhance power, signal quality, and coverage across the capital, following nearly three years of broadcasting delays due to technical limitations.
Regulatory Approval for Frequency Relocation
The Comisión Reguladora de Telecomunicaciones (CRT) approved the frequency change for Sistema Regional de Televisión. The channel will move its 6 Megahertz bandwidth from the 54-60 MHz range to the 186-192 Megahertz band. This relocation is critical for the channel to ensure effective coverage over Mexico City and an additional 45 kilometers of surrounding territory, while also mitigating potential additional economic costs that would burden its operation as a social broadcaster.
Sistema Regional de Televisión had initially received its concession in September 2023, without a counter-payment, as its use is for social television. The concession is valid until 2038. The organization’s headquarters are located in the Arquitectos neighborhood of Chihuahua city.
Addressing Technical Limitations and Bounce Issues
The concessionaire approached the CRT in March 2026, arguing that the spectrum initially assigned in 2023 was highly susceptible to signal bounces. Its technical nature would have required significant investment to achieve a coverage area of 45 kilometers, while only effectively radiating over 10 kilometers.
“It would be necessary to increase the operating power of the station to mitigate and/or maintain the signal-to-noise ratio, concluding that the useful and reproducible signal only reaches the first 10 kilometers of its 45-kilometer coverage radius from the transmission site,” stated the CRT.
The regulatory body acknowledged these concerns, recognizing that the original assignment would have forced the channel to invest heavily in infrastructure to overcome these technical hurdles, which would be unsustainable for a social television project.
Deadline for Technical Modifications
The CRT has set a deadline for Sistema Regional de Televisión, A.C. The organization has until the week of Friday, August 7, to accept and submit its proposal for modifying the technical operating parameters of its XHCSBO-TDT station. Failure to do so will result in the authorization being rendered null and void.
In September 2024, Sistema Regional de Televisión had already presented its plan for technical transmission characteristics and requested the official assignment of virtual channel 28.1. This channel number is intended to be seen by viewers in Mexico City and the rest of the Mexico Valley, aiming to unify its identity with other channels also assigned to the same entity in Chihuahua.
Broader Context and Previous Efforts
Sistema Regional de Televisión, A.C., also holds concessions for other television channels, including XHCSBR-TDT, XHABC-TDT, XHCTH-TDT, and XHCSAB-TDT. The organization has also formalized agreements for using third-party infrastructure, notably with Multimedios Radio and Canal 22 in Mexico City.
The XHCSBO-TDT station had been authorized by the now-defunct Federal Institute of Telecommunications (IFT) to transmit with a maximum power of 1,250 Watts, 24 hours a day, from a height of 127 meters on Chiquigüite hill.
The IFT had granted this spectrum concession to Sistema Regional de Televisión in mid-2023, marking a significant step towards the establishment of a social television channel for Mexico City and its metropolitan area. This initiative, the first of its kind in the capital’s history, stemmed from the organization’s initial petition to the IFT back in 2018.
The delay in launching the channel contrasts with the high value of commercial television concessions in the market, where the last commercial spectrum concession in 2021 was valued at 501.6 million pesos.
This development underscores the ongoing efforts to expand public and social media offerings in Mexico, ensuring that diverse voices and content can reach a broader audience, particularly in densely populated urban areas like Mexico City.
Source: El Economista
