G4-1
The networks we have developed will allow us to meet the growing demand for data services that we expect to experience over the next years.
The global telecommunications sector is evolving at an unprecedented pace as a result of the deployment of new technologies and services, changes in regulation, and an increasingly competitive environment.
Alongside this rapid transformation, our customers' preferences and consumption patterns have also changed dramatically. Data services usage levels now exceed those of voice services. Our data traffic volumes have been growing twofold from year to year, and data usage is expected to increase at a rate of seven times per year with respect to current levels by 2020. Against this backdrop, we believe that in the years to come we will be in a position to not only continue to connect people as we have done so far, but also to connect hundreds of thousands of devices through the Internet of Things.
To achieve this transformation, we make ongoing investments in infrastructure and to upgrade our fixed and mobile networks in order to offer more specialized services to our customers. We have built the largest integrated platform in Latin America, which is outfitted with fiber-optic cabling and the most recent technology available, which has allowed us to retain our position of leadership in the telecommunications industry in the region.
Throughout the 16 years since we began operations, we have adhered to a customer-oriented service philosophy that requires us to engage in an ongoing effort to develop new strategies for improving not only the way in which we allow our customers to communicate, but also their overall experience.
We owe special recognition to the hard work and dedication of our employees, to whom we entrust the implementation of our new strategies and who contribute with their talent towards our achievement of an excellent service, consistent with our institutional values and with our Code of Ethics.
In 2016, we faced significant macroeconomic challenges that we were able to overcome successfully, and we made steady progress in ensuring the preservation of our efficiency and in optimizing our costs without compromising the quality of our services.
Telecommunications serve as a launching pad for the development of inclusive societies.
No one can dispute that telecommunications today constitute a founding element for the overall development of our society and for changing the lives of its members. Well aware of this fact, we foster the socioeconomic development of our communities through digital inclusion, focusing our efforts on providing for their increased connectivity and improved quality of life.
In each of the countries in which we operate, we are focusing our efforts to address the key issues of concern to our industry, such as the protection of personal data, to ensure that the use of our networks does not result in the infringement of the rights of our customers. In addition, we have subscribed to global initiatives concerning child protection, the digital inclusion of vulnerable groups, the respect of human rights, and the protection of the environment.
We have created internal committees to address various aspects of the sustainability of our organization, and we are working to increase our social and environmental awareness efforts.
We are part of the Sustainability Index of the Mexican Stock Exchange.
Noteworthy actions taken in 2016 include our joining the United Nations Global Compact, thereby formalizing our commitment to abiding by and promoting its ten principles concerning human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption.
In addition, we undertook a thorough revision of our Code of Ethics, our Personal Data Privacy and Freedom of Expression in Telecommunications Policy, our Information Security Policy, our Human Rights Policy, and our Anti-corruption Policy, all of which will be mandatory for each of our subsidiaries and suppliers effective as of 2017.
We have been upgrading our base stations not only to achieve increased efficiencies in terms of costs and services, but also to reduce our consumption of energy to mitigate the impact of our operations on the environment. We also continued to encourage our customers to dispose their old mobile devices in our Customer Service Centers for their subsequent transfer to entities specialized in the reclaim and recycle of their components, which by reason of their nature have a material impact on the environment, thereby engaging our entire value chain in our efforts toward reusing our resources.
We contributed to our communities through various social and environmental programs, including the provision of free access through our networks to Aprende.org, the digital learning platform of Fundación Carlos Slim, which offers training for employment, skills development courses, certifications, diplomas, as well as information to foster healthcare awareness and economic development of our communities. Also the alliance with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to join efforts in the preservation of wildlife species such as the jaguar, the monarch butterfly and the marine species that inhabit the Sea of Cortes.
In the working scene, we provided professional opportunities to our more than 194 thousand employees through competitive salaries, ongoing training, and the implementation of professional and personal development platforms.
In terms of communities, we contributed to the economic and social development, as well as education of thousands of communities located far from urban population centers in each of the countries in which we operate, by providing them with access to mobile and fixed telephony.
In each of the 25 countries in which we operate, we sought to strengthen our relations with government authorities and to ensure that we remain compliant with all of the applicable laws on the subject of free competition. In Mexico, the Federal Institute of Telecommunications (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones or IFT) audited our operations on several occasions and found us in compliance with the preponderant economic agent regulations to which we are subject, for which we credit the efforts of our various business units. We will continue to work closely with Mexican regulatory authorities to comply with the additional regulations they have imposed us.
As a result of the aforementioned actions, we continue to be one of the 30 companies whose shares are included in the Sustainability Index of the Mexican Stock Exchange, and we intend to keep our commitment to their advancement.
The future is challenging, but in América Móvil we are prepared to face it.
While we expect to face new and significant challenges in 2017, we possess the requisite tools to translate them into opportunities to transform and reconfigure our operations to keep up with technological evolution as we have done over the past 16 years.
Based on our achievements so far and on our everyday activities, we look to the future with no small measure of optimism in the conviction that we will continue to be a detonator of growth and development in each of the markets in which we participate.
As in previous years, I am pleased to submit to you América Móvil 2016 Sustainability Report, Transformation in Progress, which describes in detail our achievements in 2016 and the aspects on which we intend to focus in 2017.
We appreciate the unwavering trust of our investors, customers, employees, suppliers and distributors, and we hope that they continue trusting us to communicate them with the world.
Daniel Hajj Aboumrad
Chief Executive Officer of América Móvil
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