In late 2011 when outside operators came into the country, the Costa Rican Electricity Institute had 90% of the mobile market but a year later this dropped to 79%.
The information comes from the Telecommunications Statistical Report prepared by the Superintendency of Telecommunications (Sutel). The report indicates that the fastest growing company in the same period was Claro, which went from having 3% to 9% of the market in twelve months.
Claro, Movistar and the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad are competing for a contract for telecommunications services in isolated communities.
These three operators submitted bids in a contest sponsored by the Superintendency of Telecommunications (Sutel) to provide telecommunications services to residents of the communities of La Lidia, La Curia and Aguas Fría in the district of Roxana de Pococí in Limon.
Costa Rica's Administrative Court has ruled against several municipalities for excessive restrictions on installing mobile communication towers.
The companies Alta Vista Towers S. A., Costa Pacífico Torres Ltda and Claro Costa Rica sued the emunicipalities of Santa Ana and Montes de Oca because of prohibitions on the placement of cell towers.
These companies argued before the Dispute Tribunal "that provisions related to height, location and distance make it almost impossible to install antennas", reported Nacion.com.
Costa Rica has $216 million to spend in bringing telephony and internet services to areas with no communication, a situation that causes clashes between the President and the Telecommunications Superintendency.
President Chinchilla asked the telecommunications regulator in Costa Rica (SUTEL), to award the projects to bring internet services to schools to the state telecommunications company (ICE) without a bidding process.
In Costa Rica "... there are mobile operators who did not go through a public tender process, who do not pay for the frequencies they use, and who do not have any coverage obligations ..."
"We are talking about public property which five years ago, when the Telecommunications Act was passed, had a low profile and was largely unregulated," noted an article in Elfinancierocrc.om.
The implementation of a LTE network by the state telecom company in Costa Rica will stimulate the market, benefiting consumers.
In one month, the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad will launch a pilot scheme for a fourth generation cellular network using LTE technology, initially reserved for affluent areas and those with heavy internet use on mobile phones.
The National Telecommunications Fund plans to develop seven projects in the areas of education, social welfare, health and homes, which will feature, for the first time, internet and telephone services.
According to the Telecommunications Superintendency (Sutel), there are a total of 477 schools, 78 colleges, 155 Ebais (health centres), 25 Cecis and 70 CEN- CINAI which will be connected with a speed of 4 megabytes.
The Government is considering a possible tender for a new radio frequency block that would provide fourth-generation mobile services.
Alejandro Cruz, Minister of Science, Technology and Telecommunications (Micitt), asked the Sutel to define the future of the 70 MHz block not auctioned in 2011, when Telefonica and Claro were awarded frequencies. These companies have shown interest in having more spectrum to expand the supply of fast mobile Internet services.
The supervisor of telecommunications and major operators have agreed to implement number portability in November 2013.
After arguing that it was technically impossible to implement the necessary equipment until March 2014, "the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) agreed to accelerate the purchase of equipment in order to implement number portability, while Movistar and Claro operators relaxed deadlines for developing the system which had been agreed on months ago," noted an article in Elfinancierocr.com.
The Costa Rica state telecom company is moving away from the purpose that justifies its existence and is impeding the exercise of the popular will in terms of the cellular market opening up.
The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), after using every piece of legal chicanery imaginable to prevent the implementation of number portability, is now simply saying "I WONT SIGN", citing technical insolvency as its reason for not integrating the system that allows users to migrate from one cellular communication provider to another, while keeping their phone number.
Costa Rica is more than ready to enter the era of LTE, the technology that supports fourth generation cellular networks.
Elfinancierocr.com reports that "In a forum on spectrum management, organized by the Chamber of Costa Rican - North American Trade, the ICE was notably absent."
The companies Claro and Movistar want more space on the radio spectrum so they can introduce new technologies to increase the speed of mobile internet in Costa Rica.
Without full interconnection and number portability, the state telecommunications company retains a disproportionate advantage, contrary to the equality of conditions expected by private operators.
An editorial published in Nacion.com states that in Costa Rica, the opening of the telecommunications market is still incomplete, and points to the strength of the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, which until last year had a monopoly on telecommunications, as being responsible of this situation.
It is being said that the state run telecommunications company in Costa Rica is practicing a delaying strategy against free competition and freedom of choice for users.
Elfinancierocr.com reports that "The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) is appealing against the decision by the Telecommunications Superintendent (SUTEL) which selected the company El Corte Ingles as the reference entity to manage number portability in the country.'
The state-owned communications company in Costa Rica has filed 20 law suits in an attempt to stop number portability.
Surveys say that mobile users aren’t currently showing much inclination to switch service providers. New entrants have experienced set backs in providing coverage throughout Costa Rica, due to, among other factors, the difficulties in obtaining the necessary permits from municipalities to install their antennas.
The privatization of telecommunications in Costa Rica is still hampered by bureaucracy and lack of agreements in favor of consumers.
They are still 13 Costa Rican municipalities who are not authorizing the installation of “so called” cell towers because of lack of regulations in this respect, or because the regulations, where they do exist, contains disproportionate demands which make it "virtually impossible to install the structures."