The Board of Directors of the Public Services Regulatory Authorities approved the first three set of rules to regulate the telecommunication sector with the context of an open market.
Friday, October 17, 2008
The rules will come into effect once they are published in the Gazette on Friday October 17.
The approved rules are the following:
Regulations for universal access, universal service and solidarity.
The objective is to promote and provide quality telecommunication services in an opportune, and efficient manner, and at affordable and competitive prices to the inhabitants of those areas of the country where the cost of installing and maintaining the infrastructure will cause supply of these services to be unprofitable.
Rules for access and interconnection
These establish the technical, economic and legal rules to ensure access and interconnection to the networks, as well as guarantee that users have unrestricted access to telecommunication services.
Rules for competition and telecommunication
These establish the principles of competition in the national market, guaranteeing access to operators or providers in telecommunication market, avoiding abuses and monopolistic practices by providers and operators, and establishes sanctions based on the General Law of Telecommunications
A new regulation is in force that has as one of its purposes to compensate the customer for the poor quality of the connection and to automatically compensate when service failures are prolonged.
The General Superintendency of Electricity and Telecommunications (SIGET) approved the Quality Regulation for Public Telephony and Data Transmission Services, which is intended to improve the service that different companies currently provide.
Even though demand continues to grow, operators are not able to grow due to lack of effective competition in the mobile market and delays in the allocation of spectrum.
A portion of customers in the cellular market and other telecommunications services such as internet and cable television are still dissatisfied, but telecommunications companies are not able to increase their services due to the slow rate at which the rules are set and at which infrastructure problems are addressed.
A set of regulations approved on April 15 introduced measures to protect users of telecommunication services.
It was issued by the Public Services Authority (ARESEP), and covers number portability, compensations in the event of service failures and free access to emergency services.
After months in a difficult process, the Superintendence of Telecommunications has finally be formed.
According to reports by MIPUNTO.com, "The institution was created as a result of the privitization of mobile telephone and internet services as contemplated in the Free Trade Agreement between Central America, the Dominican Republic and the United States, which came into effect in Costa Rica on January 1.
×
7537Government Procurement Opportunities in the region
español
7537
