A massive network upgrade is underway in five Mexican states

One problem that’s universal in pretty much anywhere outside the world’s most connected countries is how patchy internet access can be. While some places have been slow to catch up, others are starting to make big moves to close the gap. Mexico is one of them. In recent years, the Mexican government has rolled out plans to reform its telecom sector, like a new regulatory body, and now private companies are stepping in with their own infrastructure upgrades.

One of those is MX Fiber, a telecom infrastructure company that builds and manages long-haul and metropolitan fibre optic networks in Mexico. It has teamed up with Nokia to roll out a new high-speed optical transport backbone stretching 1,800 km. The project’s first phase will target Chiapas, Tabasco, and Quintana Roo, with Campeche and Veracruz set to follow, aiming to improve connectivity in areas that have long lagged in reliable, high-capacity networks.

These are regions where slower speeds and limited access have made it harder to use cloud services, video conferencing, and other data-heavy applications that are now essential for work and everyday life.

The network will use Nokia’s Flex-Grid DWDM technology and 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS), supporting 10G, 100G, and 200G services from the start, with room to upgrade to 400G and 800G down the line. According to Nokia, the setup can handle up to 2.4 Tbps of throughput, putting it in the same performance league as other modern backbone networks being built in Latin America.

For MX Fiber, the project is also about enabling larger economic initiatives. The new backbone is expected to support infrastructure projects like the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the Maya Train, which are designed to boost trade, tourism, and development. It will also connect to data centres, industrial parks, and subsea transport hubs, the kind of links that help regions plug into global markets.

This isn’t Nokia’s first push into underserved areas. The company has been involved in rural broadband efforts in Brazil and is deploying subaquatic fibre networks in the remote tri-border region where Peru, Colombia, and Brazil meet. The MX Fiber project fits that same pattern, targeting regions that have been left behind in the digital race.

Whether it will fully close the connectivity gap remains to be seen. But if it delivers on its capacity and coverage promises, it could give more people and businesses in these areas the kind of internet access they’ve been missing.