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).
95% of the 21 million handsets registered as operational in July 2013 are prepaid.
The data was released by the Superintendency of Telecommunications (SIT). "Of every 10 active phones, nine are prepaid and only one uses a payment plan by the company providing the service," reported Prensalibre.com.
In Costa Rica, 71% of users connect to the internet via their cell phone, while 68% do so using a computer at home.
Elfinancierocr.com reports that "that means that about 920,000 people say that they connect to the internet using a mobile device," according to a study prepared by Unimer RED 506, which noted that access through this medium grew by 56% compared to 2011 and 30% compared to 2012.
In 2012, telecommunications companies had annual revenues of $939.2 million, of which $572.9 million correspond to the cell phone market.
Prensa.com reports that "until the end of last year there were 6.7 million subscribers to mobile phones, representing an increase of 123.3% compared to 2007 when there were 3 million active lines".
In June 2012 the number of active lines was recorded at 19.8 million, 4.6% less than the 20.7 million recorded at end of 2011.
Elperiodico.com.gt reports that "After nearly two decades of steady expansion, in the first half of this year the cellular figures reported a negative, according to a report prepared by the Superintendency of Telecommunications (SIT)."
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 “
The massive and growing use of mobile devices is hitting businesses hard, generating great opportunity and great risks.
A report from RSA (The Security of Business Innovation Council), once again brings to the forefront the growth of mobile phone use in businesses for both internal management and to communicate with customers and consumers.
Since the formal break up of the monopoly held by the state communications firm, ICE, the number of allocated cell lines has grown from 3.9 to 5.3 million.
Elfinancierocr.com reports that this information was obtained "by an appeal to the Constitutional Court, which forced the Sutel to provide the number of lines that the ICE had up to November 2011, which was considered a strategic issue by the state company and the regulator. "
Of the total numbers assigned, 26 million, 22.7 million are mobiles and only 3.3 million landlines.
At the end of the first half of 2011 there were 20.2 million registered numbers. Up until the end of August 2012, the Superintendency of Telecommunications (SIT) had delivered 26.03 million, 5.83 million in just over a year.
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.
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.
Cable & Wireless Panama (CWP), Telefonica Panama, Digicel Panama and Claro are the companies competing for the local market.
Panama has 3.3 million inhabitants and 7,281,074 registered mobile phone lines, according to the National Authority of Public Services (ASEP), which is more than two lines per person.
From 3.1 million lines in 2004, mobile telephony in Guatemala has increased sevenfold, amounting to to 20.7 million lines at the end of 2011.
In the second half of 2011, more than two million new users were added to the market, making the number of users around the country at the end of December 2011 20.7 million, according to the Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones (SIT).
While announcing that the service coverage will be limited due to problems with local municipalities regarding the installation of antennas, the Spanish company opened pre-registration for clients.
The announcement was made by the Director for Costa Rica, Jorge Abadia, adding "We wont have the 100% coverage that we would like from the first day but we will achieve it."
Cellular stores have had reduced sales since the process of opening the telecommunications market started.
Retail businesses selling cell phones have experienced significant declines since the start of the privatisation process in the telecommunications sector.
The most commercial aggressiveness has been seen by the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) who are offering packages where the phone is free, and added to this is the entry of new competitors such as Claro and Movistar, which has affected traders dedicated to only selling the phones.
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