While operators claim for effective competition on the market, the Telecommunications Authority has become a thorn in the side of the telcoms companies.
In the steps undertaken by Holst Van Patten S. A. for the acquisition of satellite internet services, the Telecommunications Superintendency (Sutel) asked the company to request an authorization for a merger and then retracted it clarifying that it would not go ahead.
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.
The licenses granted to the Chinese company will allow them to provide basic telephone services, data transmission, internet, phone and TV subscription, for terms of 10 to 20 years.
According to Elnuevodiario.com.ni "... The license to provide public telephone services nationwide was granted for ten years, according to Administrative Resolution 389-2014, contained in La Gaceta 166.
On October 30th and 31st companies from the sector will gather together in San Jose to discuss issues such as internet governance, mobility and telecom investment.
Taken from Expotelecom.net:
For 2014. the 6th edition will be held again at Real Intercontinental Hotel located in Escazu.
Expo - Telecom since its inception in 2009, has been known for putting on a show featuring the industry's latest innovations, quality exhibitions and is a place where visitors will find interactive booths with new products, where the architecture displays the image of each of the exhibitors, highlighting the strengths of the various products on display.
Businesses have denounced the arbitrariness with which municipalities are establishing rates and conditions for granting permits for setting up telecommunication towers.
The Chamber of Information and Communication Technology (Infocom) claims that the municipalities, citing their legal autonomy, are establishing their own conditions when companies request permits to install telecom towers in different areas.
The telecommunications sector is asking for spectrum auctions to be resumed in order to meet the growing demand for voice and data services.
After the Supreme Court suspended the auction process as a precautionary measure after receiving a constitutional challenge over the allocation of television frequencies, the telecommunications sector has not been able to meet new demand for services.
A 10 year license has been awarded to the Russian-owned company to allow them to venture into the market of data transmission services.
The Nicaraguan newspaper La Gaceta published "...Awarded to the company Yota de Nicaragua SA License 2014-TD-001 for permission to operate and provide data transmission services, as a service of general interest from the date of signing of the license agreement, until 30 January 2024."
With resources from the National Telecommunications Fund the infrastructure required to provide services in the north of the country will be built.
The municipalities of San Carlos, Los Chiles, Guatuso and Upala have signed an agreement to expedite the process needed to be completed by the telecommunications companies Claro and Movistar in order to install base stations and to provide Internet service in the area.
Details from a report given to the Securities and Exchange Commission on the company's activities in the six Central American countries during the first quarter of 2014.
Operating revenues in Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama) during the first three months of 2014 increased by 12.1% compared to the first three months of 2013.
Government investment in infrastructure for information and communication technology lays the foundation for growth in the sector.
A study by Oxford Business Group has analyzed the impact that public investment has had on the sector of information and communication technologies, prompting the arrival of international companies who want to exploit the potential of the sector but encounter barriers, such as a shortage of skilled labor.
The government signed a trust agreement with Banco Atlantida to invest resources in the field of telecommunications and information technology.
With this trust an investment fund will be created for investments that will allow projects to be implemented in the area of telecommunications and information technologies.
"According to the contract, it is indicated that investments will be made in the area of telecommunications and their applications in information technology and communication, as well as facilitating access to the internet."
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."
Movistar has invested $15 million in a latest generation fiber optic network which will interconnect overland with Central Mexico.
Movistar, the mobile phone brand of Telefónica, has invested $15 million in a fiber optic network that will cover 3,158 kilometers and will connect to Central America and Mexico by land.
Juan Castroverde manager of Movistar Panama said that "through the Central Telefónica network, companies will have greater capacity, quality, security and reliability of their data. The network will have an initial capacity of 10 Gigabits per second for data transmission, in addition to providing a variety of routes and connection points."
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.
A year after obtaining the concession, the Chinese telecom company has started importing the equipment necessary for the provision of services for fixed and mobile telephones and internet.
An article in Elmundo.com.sv reports that "The government of Nicaragua expects that Xinwei will invest $700 million in 2013, just in setting itself up as a company, said Orlando Castillo, CEO of Telcor, who stated that the total investment will culminate at the end of 2015."