The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) will buy 400.000 GSM phone lines from Ericsson Costa Rica.
Jaime Palermo, commercial director of the Institute, explained they have many 3G lines available for purchase, but clients prefer the GSM service, especially through pre-paid cards.
An article in Nacion.com noted that users prefer GSM, “because GSM devices are cheaper than their 3G counterparts”.
CableTica, a local cable company, will install a fiber optics network to provide services to mobile telephony operators and internet television.
Parent company Televisora de Costa Rica S.A. reported they signed a contract with Ericsson to build and operate the network over the next 5 years.
“With the network, CableTica will be able to transport any type of data –including television and Internet – and will lay the groundwork for future IPTV services”, reported Elfinancierocr.com.
The companies announced that they will attack together some segments of the Central American market.
According to Ericsson's Phone Account manager, Mats Malmstrom, the company "expects an expansion of its Central and Latin American portfolio in 2009, in association with corporations such as Movistar, and offering solutions to users of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) ".
The Comptroller’s Office of the Republic ordered ICE to analyze if the price offered by Huawei Technologies would permit it to comply with the contract.
Esteban Oviedo in an article of Nacion.com writes: "The controlling institution revised the order passed last Monday, when they annulled the awarding of the contract to the Chinese company. This happened after the business lowered its initial price and offered a discount of almost 40% (of $3.7 million).
Chinese business has accumulated a total of $266 million in contracts with the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE).
With very aggressive pricing policies, Huawei has positioned itself in Costa Rica as the leader in the provision of networks and cellular telephone systems. This leadership position enhances its ability to obtain bids currently under way, such as for the 200 radio bases that ICE needs to acquire.
Ericsson will provide the 300 thousand GSM lines that will be put on sale in December.
The Swedish company presented its technical and financial offer on Wednesday, however it did not make public the dollar figure. In its proposal, it plans to deliver additional equipment in order to offer better quality service. The Costa Rica Institute of Electricity (ICE) chose Ericsson directly in order to speed up the process.
The partnership will allow Digicel to offer innovative mobile services to its subscribers in Panama and reinforces Ericsson's role as its preferred supplier in the region.
Under the agreement, Ericsson will be sole supplier of a GSM/EDGE network including radio access network, Mobile Softswitch Solution, mobile backhaul solution with optical and microwave products and Convergent Charging and Billing solution.
Three appeals against the process for acquiring the equipment need for the system will delay the marketing of that technology.
Even though the contract to purchase of the equipment was awarded to Ericsson Costa Rica on July 7, they will not be able to make the purchase until October 2 when the motions are possibly resolved.
The delay in the marketing of the prepaid service put the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity's (ICE) goal of offering the service starting in the first few weeks of 2009 at risk.
The cellular telephone company Digicel Group de Honduras has signed a contract with Ericsson to provide GSM/EDGE services.
This will make Ericsson the main supplier for Digicel for its operations in the Caribbean, El Salvador and now in Honduras.
Under the terms of the agreement, Ericsson will be the only supplier of the GSM/EDGE network, which includes core network, access to radio and microwave transmissions.
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