For the third time the date for submitting bids in the 70 MHz tender for the radio spectrum for international mobile technology services has been postponed.
For the third time, the deadline has been changed for submitting the proposals, after the operators interested in thetender filed appeals and objections against the tender conditions.
Five years after the market opened up, three municipalities continue to prioritize landscape aesthetics versus the need to install structures to ensure cell phone coverage.
Two court cases motivated by the governments of the municipalities of Esparza and Moravia, and the filing an appeal with the Sala I by the Municipality of Curridabat, summarize the legal objections raised because of the installation of towers for the provision of cell phone services in Costa Rica, and which continue to generate controversy five years after the opening of the telecommunications sector, according to an article by Nacion.com.
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:
The government has confirmed that the auction of the remaining 70 MHz of spectrum in 2015 will be only among the three current telecommunications operators.
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.
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.
The fractioning of municipal powers and excessive bureaucracy continue to complicate the expansion of the network of cell towers, preventing better coverage for digital communications.
The lack of definition of legal and technical criteria by the government is not only preventing the orderly expansion of cellular coverage in the country, but is also limiting controls and requirements on telecommunications companies, which amongst the legal tangle of particular requirements by municipalities, different entities try to expand their services in the country.
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.
The second tender planned for this year which would have allowed the entry of a fourth company into the phone market will not be completed.
According to the executive power, who took the decision to suspend the tender, there is not enough information available because the technical report of the Telecommunications Authority is "inconclusive" and contains figures which are out of date.
The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad's share in the mobile phone market fell to 65%.
At the end of 2012 Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) owned a 79% stake in the mobile market, and this was reduced to 65% in September 2013. That portion of the market was taken over by the foreign competitors Claro and Movistar.
According to figures from the Telecommunications regulator mentioned in an article on Nacion.com , "up to September 2013 the ICE had 4,278,183 active lines, which represents an increase of 0.7 % compared to the 4,248,684 lines it had in the last quarter of 2012."
The arrival of new mobile services could be delayed if the uncertainty surrounding the renewal of licenses to mobile operators continues.
A report by the company GSMA, a firm that brings together more than 800 mobile operators in the world, presented a study which analyzes the state of the radio spectrum in Latin America and how the licenses are renewed for use in countries such as Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama.
After the opening up of the telecommunications market, the number of postpaid cellular lines are down from 1.6 million in 2010 to 1.1 million as at the end of 2012.
Prepaid connections currently represent 80% of the lines that exist in the country, while two years ago the figure was barely 49%, according to a study by the Telecommunications Superintendency (Sutel).
With its entry into force in late November, both the regulator as well as telephone companies predict fierce competition because of attempts to retain and attract customers.
"This law promotes stronger dynamism in the market and gives the user the power to negotiate what suits them. It requires companies to provide more service. It is a climate of true market competition," said Eduardo Castellon spokesman for the Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones (Sutel).
After one year of competition in mobile communications, the changes that have taken place reveal a market that is different from how many expected.
The market transformation has been swift and contained surprising nuances. Cellular penetration swiftly exceeded 100%, while the use of mobile Internet exceeded forecasts.
Pablo Fonseca's article in Nacion.com reports that "Although more changes will come in the short and medium term, it is good to take stock. Many people were clear that the Costa Rican market was no ordinary market and had certain characteristics that needed to be taken into account when dealing with it, such as a thirst for technology, the level of information being handled, the requirements to be able to receive what is being offered and the level of spending willing to be made for a handset “
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.
Costa Rica businesses are insisting that they be granted the necessary permits for installation of cell phone towers that will enable quality communication services.
A communication from the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of Private Business Sector (UCCAEP) reads:
UCCAEP urges authorities to act to make privatisation of telecommunications a reality.