If the Sutel's proposal is approved, on December Costa Rica will eliminate the tariffregulation for the international telephone, internet and postpaid cellular telephony markets.
From a statement issued by the Superintendency of Telecommunications (Sutel):
The only countries in America where mobile phone prices are still regulated are El Salvador and Costa Rica. It is no coincidence that these countries are among the last in the rankings for speed of mobile internet services.
Transparency in governance and better use of productive resources in an economy are not achieved by appealing to good personal intentions, but by observing basic principles of management.
EDITORIAL
The government's candidate for the office of Controller General of Public Services sees "no inconsistency" in serving in this position, while at the same time being on sabbatical leave from a company which is a provider of those services.
Six years after the market opened, authorities are assessing whether competition is effective in order to eliminate caps and free up rates for mobile telephony and the internet.
The methodology for determining whether or not there is effective or genuine competition in the telecommunications market has already been approved and the Telecommunications Regulator expects to have the results no later than the end of the year. If it is determined that competitive conditions exist, there could be an elimination of the requirements such as capped tariffs for services and other service fees, which are currently limited to the operators.
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 industry is calling for effective competition to be allowed with the market setting rates and not the Telecommunications Regulator.
Operators of telephony and internet services are asking for the establishment of maximum rates by the Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones (Sutel) to be eliminated, applying what is contemplated in the Telecommunications Act, which allows the possibility of not intervening in the setting of rates. The companies point out that "... the market prices are up to six times lower than the maximum rate established by the Sutel."
In Costa Rica the growing business is led by Tigo which has a 78% market share, Callmyway with 16%, Telecable with 5% and other companies with just 1%.
Recent studies by the Sutel show that the use of internet telephony has been making great strides. "While in the fourth quarter of 2010 there were 10 VoIP connections, two years later there were 18,144 such connections," explains Pablo Fonseca in Nacion.com.
The Superintendency of Telecommunications in Costa Rica has approved an increase of 26% for rates for fixed telephone lines and a reduction in the rate for calls between a landline and a cell phone.
From a press release from the Superintendency of Telecommunications (Sutel):
The announced increase of 290% in fixed telephony tariffs has accelerated the switch over to Internet telephony.
IP telephony has taken off more strongly after news of a 290% increase in fixed rates. One of the few requirements needed for its implementation is to have an internet connection.
Elfinancierocr.com reports: "Although the Superintendency of Telecommunications (Sutel) sets the same rate for fixed telephony and IP telephony, the latter allows companies to offer unlimited packages to its users, which would have no additional cost."
Mobile Operators to Help Consumers Better Understand and Manage Data Usage, Addressing Head-On the Issue of Bill Shock.
The GSM Association announced that more than 40 Latin American mobile network operators (MNOs) have launched a data roaming transparency scheme in the region that will provide consumers with greater visibility of their roaming charges and usage of mobile data services when travelling within the region and abroad. The initiative is supported by operator groups including América Móvil, Antel, Entel Chile, Millicom, Oi, Orange, Telecom Italia and Telefónica, all of whom agreed to undertake a number of measures in the countries in which they operate to help mobile subscribers better understand their data roaming charges and more effectively manage their use of data services when visiting other countries. The MNOs participating in this initiative account for more than half a billion mobile subscribers across the region.
The Costa Rican regulator has prevented telephone companies Telefónica and ICE from agreeing on tariffs for end users within a contract for interconnecting their networks.
The company Claro filed a complaint to the Superindendency of Telecommunications (Sutel), which stated that the access and interconnection agreement signed between the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) and Telefónica, contained clauses where both companies agreed not to charge prices below the cost of services provided, considering the interconnection charges as a cost common to both.
At the start of privatisation of the cellular market in Costa Rica, the Mexican company Claro is questioning agreements between the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) and the Spanish run Telefónica.
The complaint filed by Claro to the Superintendency of Telecommunications (Sutel) indicates that in the access and interconnection agreement signed between the ICE and Telefonica, there are clauses where both companies are committed to not charging prices below the cost of services rendered, considering interconnection charges as a common expense to both parties.
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