CFE Telecom paid 159.2 billion pesos to Starlink for inactive equipment, warns the ASF

The Federal Auditor's Office (ASF) found that CFE Telecommunications and Internet for All (CFE TEIT) made payments of 159.2 billion pesos to Starlink for equipment that was not operational, without applying penalties or discounts for breach of contract. This situation occurs while the state-owned company faces irregularities in other connectivity and specialized personnel contracts.

The contract with Starlink, valid from October 31, 2023, to December 31, 2026 , is valued at up to 1.805 billion pesos . According to the ASF (Superior Audit Office of the Federation), of the 7,595 sites installed in 2023 , approximately 40% were out of service or pending activation , and 1,776 pieces of equipment remained in storage without an installation date .

During visits to 17 sites in Aguascalientes, State of Mexico, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí and Veracruz , the ASF found that 17.7% of the sites did not have internet signal and no repair or replacement actions were taken on the equipment, despite the payments made.

The audit also noted that CFE lacked preventive maintenance procedures and did not document a monitoring system for the satellite infrastructure. Furthermore, the resilience of Starlink equipment to extreme conditions such as heavy rain, heat, or power outages was not evaluated.

Given these irregularities, the ASF requested the CFE's parent company's Responsibilities Unit to investigate and, if necessary, initiate administrative proceedings against the public servants in charge of the contract.

Starlink has become one of CFE Telecom's most expensive providers. In 2023 alone, the state-owned company allocated 752.6 million pesos to the company, part of which, according to the ASF (Superior Audit Office of the Federation), corresponded to inactive equipment .

The ASF also detected a probable damage to the Federal Public Treasury of 169,844 pesos related to services contracted to the Center for Research and Innovation in Information and Communication Technologies (Infotec) .

It was found that 21 of the 99 workers analyzed performed tasks unrelated to their assigned projects, and four service providers lacked the required academic qualifications and experience. This resulted in omissions in the reduction of payments, despite the detected non-compliance.

Furthermore, the ASF found that in previous contracts, such as the 2022 contract for the delivery of 4G and WiFi6 equipment , payments were made to bank accounts other than those stipulated in the contracts, and 16.2% of the supplies remained in storage without official record . The price paid to Infotec was significantly higher than the ASF's estimate, at 121.518 billion pesos compared to the 14.959 billion pesos estimated by the audit.

The oversight agency concluded that CFE Telecom failed to demonstrate that Infotec met the requirements for industrial safety, experience, environmental protection, and social responsibility , despite continuing to award it contracts. During its existence, Infotec was the agency that received the most funding from CFE Telecom, surpassing even Starlink, with 4.778 billion pesos paid in 2023 alone .

The ASF emphasizes that the payments made by CFE Telecom reflect technical, administrative, and supervisory deficiencies , and warns that the current contracts require a thorough investigation to determine responsibilities and prevent future damage to public funds .

The ASF report reveals a landscape of unjustified payments and operational deficiencies in CFE Telecom's connectivity projects, especially those involving Starlink and Infotec. Although the contracts aimed to bring internet access to rural communities , the lack of control and oversight has led to inefficient use of public resources , highlighting the need for stricter auditing mechanisms and operational monitoring to ensure the effectiveness of the contracted services.