Costa Rica: Results of Telecommunications Opening

Five years after the fall of the monopoly, there are more companies, more users and a greater array of services on offer, with growth of 45% in the sector's contribution to GDP.

Monday, July 1, 2013

According to data reported by telecommunications companies to the Superintendency of Telecommunications (Sutel), the sector's contribution to the economy has grown by 45% over the past five years. In 2012, these companies reported gross income which exceeded $1.315 billion, equivalent to 3.3% of GDP.

One of the most noticeable effects is that so many companies have joined the market. "In 2008, the sector was made up of the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) and Radiográfica Costarricense, which had agreements with about a dozen cable companies. In May this year, the Superindendency of Telecommunications recorded 116 operators and telecommunications service providers", noted an article in Elfinancierocr.com.

In addition, there was an increase in the penetration of Internet and mobile telephony. The amount of active cell lines grew by 225%, a figure which means there are more cell phones on the street than the current population of the country. Regarding the internet market, this was the first to break the monopoly, the number of fixed broadband subscribers has increased by more than four times in five years.

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