The Superintendency of Telecommunications in Costa Rica is calling a tender to develop infrastructure for internet and mobile telephony services in 24 indigenous territories in the country.
The Sutel will receive technical and economic offers from telecommunications companies interested in developing the project up until May 31, and it will analyze the bids and award the project within a period of 45 working days.
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 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.
Panama is proposing installing on its territory a regional IXP to reduce the cost of data transmission between Central American countries.
An IXP is a piece of infrastructure which enables internet traffic to move between networks and through this interface to connect directly, without using an intermediate network. Among the advantages of an IXP are the higher availability of bandwidth and reducing costs in regional Internet traffic.
Between 2010 and 2014 internet access in households in the metropolitan urban area in the country increased from 18.3% to 27%.
In 2010, it was reported that in rural areas of Guatemala only 1.4% of households had internet access, a figure that hasn't changed to date. Nationally, 12.8% of the population has access to the internet.
The manager of the National Institute of Statistics, Ruben Narciso, told Estrategiaynegocios.net that "...
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.
Claro, Movistar and the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad are competing for a contract for telecommunications services in isolated communities.
These three operators submitted bids in a contest sponsored by the Superintendency of Telecommunications (Sutel) to provide telecommunications services to residents of the communities of La Lidia, La Curia and Aguas Fría in the district of Roxana de Pococí in Limon.
The National Telecommunications Fund plans to develop seven projects in the areas of education, social welfare, health and homes, which will feature, for the first time, internet and telephone services.
According to the Telecommunications Superintendency (Sutel), there are a total of 477 schools, 78 colleges, 155 Ebais (health centres), 25 Cecis and 70 CEN- CINAI which will be connected with a speed of 4 megabytes.
The project to use wireless technology to bring Internet communications to isolated rural communities has not attracted any companies.
No companies showed interest in the project to provide telephone and internet services to six Costa Rican Caribbean communities.
Nacion.com reports that "the Telecommunications Superintendency (Sutel) said that it did not receive any bids to develop the project of the National Telecommunications Fund (Fonatel) in six communities in Siquirres and Pacuarito.
An announcement has been made in Costa Rica for a tender for a project to give rural communities mobile and fixed telephone coverage, with funding from the National Telecommunications Fund.
The National Telecommunications Fund (Fonatel) is endowed with payments for operating licenses awarded to telecom operators such as Claro and Movistar, and currently has $190 million to be used to promote access to quality, timely, efficient, affordable and competitive telecommunications services, for the inhabitants of areas of the country where the cost of investment for the installation and maintenance of infrastructure for the provision of these services is not financially profitable.
The Spanish company has announced the investment of $100 million for the expansion of mobile phone and internet coverage.
The director of Telefonica - Movistar in Nicaragua stated that the investment will take place over a period of three months, so they estimate that by January 2012, coverage will span the entire Nicaraguan territory.
"The investment includes the expansion of networks, the improvement of bandwidth for Internet coverage on 3G (third generation) as well as other improvements, announced the representatives of the telephone company", reported Terra Noticias.
In Costa Rica the tax authority (DGT) interpreted that internet access should pay sales taxes (13%).
This has caused negative reactions from many sectors, for example the Technology Chamber, headed by Fabio Masís, stated that “prices are expected to increase, with negative consequences on low income users”, and that this decision violates the Constitution.
Telecommunications company Claro announced it will extend coverage of its cellular network to rural communities with more than a thousand residents.
The company stated that the expansion of cellular coverage will not only reach 99% of municipalities, but also to other areas in the Atlantic.
"The company says the expansion in coverage reflects the commitment to contribute to the economic and social development through access of telecommunications services in most parts of the country," reported on its Web IT NOW.
Columbus Networks will invest $2 million to lay 100 km of fiber optic cable underground in Panama City.
The company plans to install a cable line that will run under the Southern Corridor road. It also owns the fiber optic cable known as ‘Arcos’, and has an ownership stake in another major communications cable, the one called Maya.
Four major underwater communication cables pass through Panama: Maya, Arcos, South America Cables and Pan American Crossing.
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