Mexico’s fixed broadband market is undergoing a major shift as operators transition from legacy copper and cable networks to fiber.
Telmex, the dominant telecom operator with around 40 percent market share, has migrated 91 percent of its users to fiber, up from 67 percent two years ago. It competes with Totalplay, Megacable, and izzi — each holding about 20 percent market share, Ookla said in its latest report.
Both Megacable and Totalplay continue to invest heavily, with capex-to-revenue ratios exceeding 20 percent in 2025, driving nationwide fiber deployment. Totalplay has even launched a symmetrical 10 Gbps plan using Wi-Fi 7 technology, reinforcing its speed leadership.
Despite these advances, Mexico still lags behind its Latin American peers in broadband performance. According to the Speedtest Global Index (August 2025), Mexico ranks 68th globally — far behind Chile (2nd), Peru (20th), Brazil (28th), and Colombia (30th).
In Q2 2025, Mexico’s broadband speeds rose significantly as fiber rollout continues. Across all ISPs, Internet download speeds increased by 18.78 Mbps year-on-year to 91.55 Mbps, while upload speeds grew faster, rising 33.73 Mbps to 72.50 Mbps, supported by Totalplay’s shift to symmetrical speeds.
City-level analysis highlights the impact of fiber deployment:
Mexico City: Totalplay led with 198.62 Mbps (up from 120.18 Mbps), followed by Megacable at 96.28 Mbps; Telmex and izzi saw smaller gains.
Chihuahua: Totalplay surged to 142.27 Mbps from 93.79 Mbps; Telmex and izzi also improved.
Leon: Totalplay reached 138.16 Mbps, with Megacable and Telmex posting increases.
Puebla: Totalplay topped at 163.79 Mbps, while Megacable and Telmex had modest growth.
Fiber expansion is driving substantial speed improvements, with Totalplay consistently leading in median download performance.
Mexican ISPs are seeing gradual migration of users to faster broadband plans, though price remains a factor. Entry-level packages start around 350–400 MXN (~$20), with Telmex and Megacable offering 50 Mbps, izzi at 30 Mbps, and Totalplay differentiating with a 100 Mbps minimum at 529 MXN (~$30).
Chihuahua: Totalplay leads in user adoption of high-speed plans, with 51.5 percent of users on 100+ Mbps, compared to 30.2 percent for Megacable, 27.4 percent for Telmex, and 21.6 percent for izzi. Totalplay’s share of users above 300 Mbps rose sharply from 11.7 percent to 19.2 percent. Telmex and izzi saw minor shifts, reflecting continued fiber migration.
Leon: Megacable and Totalplay showed strong adoption of speeds above 100 Mbps, reducing low-speed users (0–50 Mbps). Telmex exhibited modest gains in 50–300 Mbps tiers.
Legacy Wi-Fi constraints: Many users cannot fully leverage fiber speeds due to older Wi-Fi standards. In Chihuahua, 56 percent of izzi and 46 percent of Telmex users remain on Wi-Fi 4 or lower, versus 33 percent for Totalplay and 38 percent for Megacable. Advanced Wi-Fi (6, 6E, 7) adoption is highest among Totalplay (24 percent) and Megacable (22 percent) users, while Telmex and izzi lag significantly.
Fiber adoption and faster plans are rising, but real-world speed improvements are often limited by in-home Wi-Fi technology.
In Mexico, high-performance fiber ISPs are delivering clear quality-of-experience (QoE) advantages, particularly for latency-sensitive applications like gaming and video calling.
Gaming latency: Totalplay led with the lowest latency in Chihuahua (66 ms) and León (81 ms), followed by Megacable (77 ms / 91 ms). Izz i’s HFC network lagged significantly, with 114 ms and 127 ms, negatively affecting immersive gameplay.
Video calling: Totalplay consistently provided the lowest latency, while Megacable and Telmex improved modestly.
Superior network performance translates directly into higher customer satisfaction and loyalty. Net Promoter Scores (NPS) reveal a strong correlation with speed tiers: customers on low-speed plans (0–50 Mbps) reported deeply negative NPS (-41), whereas users on 300+ Mbps plans gave strongly positive scores (+49).
Customer migration trends: Izz i, which has not heavily invested in fiber, is losing customers (net losses of ~10–11 percent over multiple periods), while fiber-focused ISPs — Totalplay, Megacable, and Telmex — are gaining users, with Totalplay and Megacable seeing consistent net gains.
Market outlook
As fiber networks expand, Mexican ISPs must focus on speed upgrades, QoE performance, and modern Wi-Fi CPE deployment (Wi-Fi 6/7) to meet consumer expectations, reduce churn, and monetize network investments. Totalplay’s strategy of pairing advanced fiber with modern in-home Wi-Fi demonstrates the potential to capture and retain high-value customers.
Baburajan Kizhakedath