In a YouTube video shared in early November 2020, Mexican influencer Luisito Comunica stands in an office next to an antenna labeled “Altan Redes – 5G.”
With his trademark curly hair and perky demeanor, Luisito Comunica — whose real name is Luis Arturo Villar Sudek — explains how this technology works. “This thing [5G] will revolutionize the planet,” he said, “and PilloFon will be the first provider to offer 5G coverage in Mexico. Hey: sounds cool! Am I posting this as self-promoting clickbait? Of course I am, but it’s true!”
PilloFon is a telecomms company that Luisito Comunica launched in mid-2020, in partnership with Diri Móvil, one of the newest players in the industry. It is not a fully fledged telecommunications operation on the ground though. PilloFon is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), a company that buys wholesale services from larger telecomms and then bundles and resells them to individual customers.