The state run telecoms company has announced an investment of $20 million to expand the 4G mobile phone network by installing more base stations and other outdoor equipment.
The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) announced that it will allocate $19.9 million to improve and expand the capacity of the mobile phone network with 4G LTE technology, in an attempt to regain some of the market share that it lost since the elimination of its monopoly and opening up of the market to new competitors.
The government's proposal sets 40 goals which should be completed by 2021, focused on broadcasting, e-government, spectrum, the broadband digital divide and infrastructure.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications (MICITT):
San Jose, 02 September, 2015. The Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications (MICITT), specifically the Vice Ministry of Telecommunications as a specialized technical body, presents the proposal of the Second National Development Plan for Telecommunications (PNDT) 2015-2021.
The Central Bank of Costa Rica has awarded Altus Consulting, Data Tell Tres Mil, SPC Internacional, and Vinet Technology Advisor, two contracts to supply telecommunications equipment.
The company Data Tres Mil de Costa Rica SA won the contract for the best price, of $6,956,678, while the other three bidders won contracts for amounts ranging between $8000 and $65,000.
From August 24 procedures will be enabled to allow for the transfer of fixed and mobile telephone lines from one operator to another.
Almost six months late, the General Superintendency of Electricity and Telecommunications (SIGET) has announced the start of number portability, whose implementation is in the hands of the company ImCard-MEDIAFON.
A ruling by the Administrative Court has annulled the General Rules for Municipal Licenses for Telecommunications and is demanding the preparation of a new one in less than three months.
The ruling by the tribunal in a lawsuit filed by Claro in January 2014, indicates that the Municipality of Alajuela must pay damages to the company, after it argued that it was unable to build telecommunications infrastructure in the region of Alajuela because of the regulations by which the municipality was governed.
A proposal has been made to draft a new telecommunications bill from scratch, completely leaving out the concepts of state control that the current proposal contains.
In the view of the private sector, the way the "Law on broadband" bill is drafted is not clear and leaves open the possibility for the State to exercise excessive control over internet access in the country.
The country's loss of competitiveness because of the deterioration of basic infrastructure development, is replicated in the case of the internet where average speeds are only 2.8 Mbps, far from the world average and below that of most countries in the region.
Costa Rica stands out in Central America for the quality and volume of goods and services related to technology which it produces and exports.
The essential modernization of technical and administrative rules governing the sector is being hampered by the proposed inclusion of rules to control content.
EDITORIAL
The vaudeville act (from the Royal Spanish Academy: frivolous, light and spicy comedy based around intrigue and misunderstandings) presented and represented by the government of Costa Rica, regarding the development and "socialization" of the proposed new Telecommunications Act , has produced as its first result t a leaderless Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications (Micitt).
Requests have been made for the clarification of which telecommunications services are to be taxed with VAT, since it is unclear whether it is information services or telecommunications which would be taxed.
Currently telecommunications services are charged sales tax, even though the Costa Rican government aims to close the digital divide. With this new reform proposal, a Value Added Tax (VAT) of 15%, "would be incurred ...
The telecoms company plans to invest $50 million in equipment to expand 4G network coverage in remote areas of the capital.
Digicel El Salvador announced plans for 2015 to invest about $50 million, ie $10 million more than the invested made to upgrade technologies in 2014. Besides this project, the company will be updating the central management system for telephone calls, following the entry into force of number portability in the country.
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.
The market was declared dead several years ago, but the government of Costa Rica has been keeping it alive artificially at the expense of taxpayers purses.
Editorial
Radiographic Costarricense (RACSA), is a subsidiary of the state-owned Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), the major player in the telecommunications industry in Costa Rica, even after the market opened in 2010.
Since its implementation, the number of mobile phone users who have switched operators amounts to 340,000 and in the case of fixed telephony, to 34,000.
From a statement issued by the Public Services Authority of Panama (ASEP):
Three years after its implementation, the number of mobile phone users who have successfully completed the transaction and benefited from Number Portability amounts to 339,000, while for fixed telephony successful transfers total 33,706.
The Superintendency of Electricity and Telecommunications is preparing the tender conditions for an auction of 40 MHz of radio spectrum for mobile operators.
The Superintendency of Electricity and Telecommunications (SIGET) plans to re launch the auction. Although the process of calling on the companies concerned has not yet started, a process is underway to determine if it will be opened up to new companies or only those already established.
The Superintendency of Telecommunications in Costa Rica is putting out to tender the service to provide access to Fixed Voice and Broadband Internet Services in the south of the country.
SUTEL-BNCR Competition No. 010-2014
Contract to provide access to Fixed Voice and Broadband Internet Services to all communities in the districts of Biolley, Brunka, Buenos Aires, Chánguena, Colinas, Pilas, Potrero Grande and Volcan, in the canton of Buenos Aires, Puntarenas province and the provision of these services to Public Service Delivery Centers located in these communities, with support from the National Telecommunications Fund.