Top 10 Costa Rica

Costa Rica telecoms liberalisation on ICE

Mobile spectrum auction pushed back due to impending change of government in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica has postponed the publication of bidding rules for the forthcoming mobile spectrum auction that should finally bring to an end the monopoly of incumbent telco ICE.

According to Central American English-language newspaper Tico Times, auction rules were due out on Friday, but regulator Sutel has delayed the process indefinitely.

The newspaper noted that the move was a political one: mobile licence winners were due to be officially sanctioned on 5 May, just three days before the end of current president Oscar Arias’ administration.

The paper reports that Citizen Action Party (PAC) presidential hopeful Otton Solis contacted the president to request a delay so that signing the new mobile contracts will take place under the next government. The president agreed.

“The decision to postpone the opening of the market is a political decision… It is a logistical decision,” Tico Times quoted Sutel communications officer Carolina Mora as saying.

The moves leaves greater uncertainty in one of the world’s few remaining unliberalised telecoms markets.

“Currently, we do not know when we will reschedule a date for the opening of the market,” admitted Mora, in the report.

According to BNAmericas, there is 160 MHz of spectrum up for grabs in Costa Rica. 60 MHz of that has already been allocated to incumbent telecoms and power provider Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, known as ICE. Newcomers will vie for the remaining 100 MHz, which is available in the 850-MHz, 1.8-GHz and 2.1-GHz bands.

As it stands, ICE holds a de facto monopoly on the country’s telecoms sector.

Technically that monopoly was broken on 1 January 2009 when Costa Rica joined Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), one of the premises of which is to allow competition in the mobile space. However, there will be no competition until the licensing process takes place.

A number of international telecoms players have expressed interest in entering Costa Rica, including regional powerhouses America Movil and Telefonica. Digicel, Cable & Wireless and Millicom are also said to be in the frame.