From the month of September recipients of remittances in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador will be able to receive them on their mobile phones.
By using a its cellular network platform, the Guatemalan company Tigo Money, a subsidiary of Tigo, will offer international services for money receipts.
Since early 2011, Tigo Money has been in the remittance business nationally in Guatemala.
The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad is inviting bids for solutions for quality and experience of its IPTV, VOIP, and Mobile Services.
The state run Costa Rican Electricity company, known as ICE, located in San Jose and with the legal identity No. 4-000-042139-02, is inviting bidders to participate in Tender No. 2012-LA-000071-PROV, for the PURCHASE OF TOOLS (SOLUTIONS) FOR QUALITY AND EXPERIENCE IN IPTV, VOIP and mobile services.
The technology installed in the towers is from the 21st Century. The bureaucracy that is authorizing them is from the 19th century.
The progress of communications is getting slower in Costa Rica, with cell phone companies unable to meet the deadlines for achieving the necessary territorial coverage, because municipalities are taking up to 5 ½ months to give permission for each tower.
The government of Costa Rica does not seem to have much interest in the radio electric spectrum concession which belongs to them. Not only is the state losing money, but opportunities are being lost for society.
Sometime in the not too near future the Costa Rican state will put out to tender a concession for a block of frequencies which was due in 2011.
The Guatemalan company Continental Towers will receive funding from the International Finance Corporation to build and maintain cell towers in Central America.
According to an article in Elperiodico.com.gt, "The IFC's investment includes a loan of $40 million and a syndicated loan of $80 million with Banco HSBC Panamá, Banco General de Panamá, the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO) and the Inter American Corporation for Infrastructure Financing. "
The Municipality of the capital of Costa Rica has announced that in two months time it will be running a system for paying for street parking.
The users sends a text message to a number (to be defined), which contains the license plate and the location of they are parking, which activates the rates. Once back in the car the rate counter is turned off and the system automatically charges a bank account to which the cell phone is linked.
Adapting to a competitive market is being costly for the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, which in 2011 accumulated losses of $40 million and a negative return of 2, 1%.
Already in 2011 the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) has had to "seek waivers or amendments with eight of its creditors", according to an article in Elfinancierocr.com, because it failed to maintain the necessary financial indicators to fill the banks with confidence.
Forced to compete in the tough telecommunications market without the perks that a monopoly grants, the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad has begun to manage itself better.
An institution that previously was reluctant to change and to opening up to private competition in telecommunications, is now being forced to reduce travel expenses and overtime and granting wage increases similar to those authorized for the central government and other public sector entities , in order not to close with its books in red in 2012.
Between the two carriers 100,000 new lines are sold a month and they already have a market share of 20%.
"At the moment, Claro and Movistar between them have a 20% market share. The growth of these companies together is about 100,000 lines per month", said George Miley, a member of the Board of the Telecommunications (Sutel), according to the information portal Signals Telecom News.
The telephone operators Claro and Movistar are still facing serious bureaucratic obstacles with the municipalities of Costa Rica over the installation of cellular towers.
Some municipalities are delaying, hindering or even prohibiting the installation of infrastructure by the operators Claro and Movistar, an operation which needs to be carried out in order to comply with their contracts.
Eight banks have provide to a Costa Rican subsidiary with its first Latin American syndicated loan to finance the construction of two cell phone towers.
"The operation involved Citibank, Banco General, Banco G & T Continental, Corpbanca, MetroBank, RBC Merchant Bank (Caribbean) Limited and Towerbank International. Additionally, Improsa Bank acted as trustee," reported Elfinancierocr.com.
To date, about 8 banks in Guatemala, 4 in El Salvador and 3 in Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica offer the service; there is still much ground to cover in the region.
The director of Technology at the company Ebclosión, Derick Brol, indicates that in Central America in 2011 there were mobile phone banking services in about 8 banks in Guatemala, 4 in El Salvador and 3 in Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
Privatization of telecommunications is beginning to bear fruit, and Costa Ricans are joining the culture of the acquiring information through mobile devices.
A survey conducted by the company Demoscopía for the Vice Minister for Telecommunications revealed that 33% of the people who own a cell phone connect to the internet through their device.
The survey was conducted between October and December 2010, before market entry of the new operators Movistar and Claro.
Claro and Movistar are bringing forward their plans to grow putting the state run ICE, until recently a monopoly, under pressure.
Claro plans to advance by four years rolling out their infrastructure. For its part, Movistar reports that its sales network has grown 30% since November, when they and Claro entered the market, breaking up the state monopoly by the ICE.
The companies have announced the development of fourth generation (4G) telephone networks for this year.
The customers manager at the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) said that the project to develop 4G technology is a priority for the state run company and they expect it to be in operation during the course of the year 2012.
For Claro’s part, its director, Richard Taylor, said when referring to the matter, " we are definitely moving into fourth generation in the very short term, I would say during 2012, any time now."