In the end the Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications (Micitt) announced that the auction of radio spectrum of 70MHz in early 2015, which aims to strengthen the current market, will be launched without the involvement of a fourth operator, as was originally considered.

Allan Ruiz, vice minister of telecommunications, told Elfinancierocr.com that "... we expect to have the instructions from the Superintendency of Telecommunications (Sutel) in the first quarter of 2015, while the technical and economic studies and the legal and public policies are finished which will complement the report received by the Superintendent on the subject; these are studies which are focused on consolidating the market and quality for end users by expanding the market to new entrants. "

He added that "... According to the analysis and projections by the Micitt and Sutel-based on the recommendations of the International Union of Telecommunications- Costa Rica requires 110 MHz in 2015. The auction of 70 MHz will partly solve these requirements. The balance, in my view, will be achieved by having all operators possessing a similar amount of spectrum in more or less all of the available bands. "

Source: elfinancierocr.com

More on this topic

Costa Rica: Idle Radio Bands Will Finally Be Tendered

February 2016

After a five years wait, the Telecommunications Authority has received an order to award unused radio spectrum frequencies.

From a publication in the official newspaper La Gaceta on Tuesday February 9, 2016:

Executive Decree No. 354-2015-Tel-Micitt, the Second Vice President of the Republic in exercise of the Presidency of the Republic and the Minister of Science, Technology and Telecommunications, agree:

Radio Spectrum: 70 MHz Idle

November 2014

Although in Costa Rica the convenience of the de-monopolization of the communications has been demonstrated, there is still resistance on the part of the government to allowing more operators to enter the market.

The market entry of a fourth mobile phone operator and thickening of the offer with 40Mhz are the two factors that are being studied before a call is made for bids which had been scheduled for the first months of 2015.

Costa Rica: Radio Spectrum Tender re launched

June 2014

The tender scheduled for the second half of the year includes a block of 40 MHz from the 1800 MHz band and a 30 MHz from the bands 1900/2100 MHz

After being canceled in late April by the Chinchilla administration, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Communications has decided to restart the project and is analysing how the bidding process will be structured.

Costa Rica: No Date for Mobile Telephony Auction

March 2010

The process to publish the bidding rules for auctioning several frequencies of the radio spectrum to mobile phone operators is on hold since February.

Sutel, the country’s telecommunication superintendence, explained they are waiting for the government to send the National Frequency Distribution Plan (which modifies the definition of microwave frequencies).