After Millicom announced that it exercised its right to cancel the Share Purchase Agreement for the acquisition of Telefonica's operating subsidiary in Costa Rica, the Spanish firm will focus on strengthening its operations in the Central American country.
Eight months after the Telecommunications Superintendence authorized the economic concentration requested for Millicom to buy the shares of Telefónica de Costa Rica TC S.A., the parties announced on May 2nd that they had decided to rescind the agreement.
Millicom announced that it exercised its right to terminate the Share Purchase Agreement for the acquisition of Telefonica's operating subsidiary in the Central American country.
If the proposal put forward by the Superintendence of Telecommunications is successful, the rates for telephony and mobile internet will be free of regulation.
The proposal to declare effective competition in the mobile phone market will put to public consultation for the next 15 days.
Between 2013 and 2015 data traffic grew by 200%, and the state-owned ICE continued to lose its share in the mobile phone market, going from 62% in 2014 to 58% in 2015.
From the report "Statistics in the telecommunications sector 2015 ," by the Superintendency of Telecommunications (Sutel):
At the close of 2015, "... a total of 139 operators and suppliers authorized by the Sutel were recorded.
Even though demand continues to grow, operators are not able to grow due to lack of effective competition in the mobile market and delays in the allocation of spectrum.
A portion of customers in the cellular market and other telecommunications services such as internet and cable television are still dissatisfied, but telecommunications companies are not able to increase their services due to the slow rate at which the rules are set and at which infrastructure problems are addressed.
Operators of the telecommunications market in Costa Rica are calling for intervention by the regulator in rates to be removed and for operations to be carried out within a framework of real commercial freedom.
After more than six years of having promoted laws which opened up the telecommunications market in Costa Rica, no operator has the ability to unilaterally set final prices or manipulate conditions in the telecommunications market.