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General Overview 7,8,9
The telecommunications network in Costa Rica is relatively modern and sophisticated. Basic telecommunication services are provided by Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), a state owned monopoly created in 1963 after being separated from the postal services. Its subsidiary, Radiográfica Costarricense (RASCA), provides telex, telegraph, video conferencing, data transmission, Internet access, facsimile, data and value-added services and it also acts as a regional data network for neighboring countries without packet switching networks (El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua).
In late 1999 the Asamblea Legislativa, Costa Rica's legislative body, approved the outline of a law that would have liberalized Costa Rica's telecommunications industry. The idea was to split the ICE into two separate companies selling services (ICEtel) and power (ICElec). The second stage of the process would have been the liberalization of Costa Rica's local and long distance phone markets. However, the efforts to liberalize the company failed in March 2000 due to massive demonstrations and road blocks (mostly organized by ICE’s trade union, which is the largest and most influential in the country, and university students) against a perceived attempt at privatizing the company. In April of 2000 the Constitutional Chamber of Costa Rica's Supreme Court ruled the initiative unconstitutional, effectively killing the process. A commission that was appointed to come up with an alternative plan reached its deadline without being able to agree on any issues. It is therefore unlikely that Costa Rica will liberalize its telecommunication sector in t he near future
Cellular telephony was introduced in Costa Rica in 1989 by a US company; however, in 1993, the Constitutional Court of Costa Rica declared the cellular concession a violation of Costa Rica's Constitution and after a fierce legal battle the company was forced to shut down in May 1995. ICE began offering its own cellular service in August 1994. The Government of Costa Rica announced in mid-1998 that it planed to sell a Band-B cellular license, but the law must still be amended.
Cellular Technology by Year of Availability
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Operator
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System
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Lauch
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Subscribers
|
Annual Growth
|
|
ICE
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AMPS
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1994
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11,000
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-63.3%
|
|
ICE
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TDMA
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1995
|
289,000
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44.5%
|
|
ICE
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GSM
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2002
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
Total 300,000
|
|
Source: ICE
In November of 2000 ICE chose to buy 600,000 lines using the GSM 1.8 MHz band to satisfy excess demand. Its current 200,000 plus customers use a TDMA network in the 1.9 MHz band. It is unknown whether ICE will attempt to merge the two networks or leave them separate
ICE operates a multiple access radio service system because private shared trunking systems are not permitted.
ICE has been involved in a network upgrade program throughout the first half of 2002 and by June of 2002 90% of the network was digitized.
Paging services are thriving in Costa Rica, due mainly to the excess demand for telephone and cellular services. The number of subscribers grew to over 90,000 at the end of 1998. There are currently 10 paging companies in Costa Rica, the largest of which are Tele Mensajes, Radiomensajes, Ticopager, and Skytel.
Telecommunication Statistics
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Telecommunication Services Revenue (2000)
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$91.6 Million
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|
Fixed Lines
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|
Fixed Telephone Lines (2002)
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1,003,379
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CAGR (1995-2001)
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12%
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Fixed Line Tele density (2002)
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25.1%
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Mobile Lines
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Mobile Subscribers (2001)
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311,300
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Annual Growth (2000-2001)
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30.4%
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Mobile Penetration (2001)
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8%
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Digital Lines of Total Available (2002)
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90%
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International Outgoing Telephone Traffic (2000)
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81 Million Minutes
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International Incoming Telephone Traffic (2001)
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126 Million Minutes
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Public Pay phones
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15,131
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ISDN Connections
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1,855
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Broadcasting Statistics
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TV Receivers (2000)
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1,503,480
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TV Households (2000)
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794,000
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TV Penetration in Households (2000)
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37.6%
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Sources: ICE, Exxun.com
Telecommunication Infrastructure
Domestic 9
ICE has invested $44 million for the expansion and upgrading of Costa Rica’s national fixed network. With this upgrade ICE will be able to provide broadband Internet access over Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) in the near future. After the expansion, ICE’s network will accommodate 1 million subscribers.
Tele density (1998-2001)
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Year
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Subscribers
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Tele density
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|
1998
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660,000
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17.2%
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1999
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802,600
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20.4%
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2000
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945,000
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23.6%
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2001
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1,003,379
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25.1%
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Source: ICE
Microwave transmission is heavily used in domestic communication and was digitized in 1992. By 2001 there were more than 4000 km of fiber optic cables. A fiber optic ring connects the major switches in the San José area. 
There are over 15,000 public pay phones scattered throughout Costa Rica and the majority of them are operated using prepaid phone cards. Access to public telephones in remote sites is available. These telephones can be used to make local calls as well as international calls to any country in the world
International Telecommunication 9
Regionally, Costa Rica’s network is interconnected to the other five Central American countries by the terrestrial telecommunications network coordinated by the Comisión Técnica Regional de Telecomunicaciones (Comtelca). This broadband network links the region’s capital cities and the networks of Mexico, Belize and Panama.
The country has two Intelsat satellite earth stations and three submarine fiber optic cables in service:
● Hawaii Americas-1 (HIAM-1) which was put in service in 1999.
● MAYA-1 submarine cable system which was completed in 1999 and put in service in June 2001. ICE acquired a capacity of 155Mbps (which is currently being upgraded to 355 Mbps). Prior to the MAYA-1 cable the country only had the Internet capacity to receive 55Mbps of information and to send 22 Mbps.
● ARCOS-1 cable system which has not been yet fully deployed. ICE acquired a capacity of 155 Mbps expandable to 25 Gbps.
 
Public Data Communication Services 10
Radiográfica Costarricense (RASCA), provides telex, telegraph, video conferencing, data transmission, Internet access, facsimile, data and value-added services and it also acts as a regional data network for neighboring countries without packet switching networks (El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua).
RACSA offers value added services through its ISDN network which permits users to connect to the Internet, transmit data and have teleconferences with other users of the network.
RACSA has the only national Frame Relay network of the region. The network has a minimum throughput of 64 Kbps and a maximum of 2 Mbps. The network is distributed throughout the most important commercial areas of the metropolitan area. RACSA plans to expand it to the entire country in the near future.
Television and Broadcasting
Costa Rica has only thirteen local station TV stations. However, cable TV is available. Currently the three cable TV providers in the country are: AMNET, Cable Tica and Cable América. These companies offer many of the channels available to US cable subscribers. DirecTV also operates in Costa Rica. The company offers 152 digital TV channels and 33 music channels. The country has 50 AM, 43 FM and 19 short-wave stations.2,11
Privatization and Deregulation
As mentioned in the overview, almostthe entire telecommunication sector in Costa Rica is still run by ICE. The table below shows a detailed picture of the liberalization status of the main parts of Costa Rica’s telecommunication infrastructure.
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Infrastructure
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Liberalization Status
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Comments
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Public Telecommunication Network
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State Monopoly
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ICE (Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad)
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|
Leased Lines
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State Monopoly
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RACSA (subsidiary of ICE)
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Alternative Infrastructure (railways, utilities, highways, etc.)
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State Monopoly
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ICE and MOPT
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|
Broadcasting and Television
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Fully Liberalized
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Broadcast Television: 8 (plus 11 repeaters); Cable TV: 3 providers (AMNET, Cable América and Cable Tica); Satellite TV (Direct TV); Radio: 50 AM and 43 FM and 19 short-wave stations.
|
|
Voice Telephony
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|
Local Communication
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State Monopoly
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ICE
|
|
Domestic Long Distance
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State Monopoly
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ICE
|
|
International Telecommunication
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State Monopoly
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ICE
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|
Mobile Communication
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|
Mobile Communication (TDMA and GSM)
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State Monopoly
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ICE
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Satellite communication
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State Monopoly
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ICE and RACSA
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|
Paging
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Fully Liberalized
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There are ten paging companies
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Data Transmission
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Partially Liberalized
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RACSA
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|
Value Added Services
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State Monopoly
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ICE
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Internet Service Provision
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State Monopoly
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ICE and RACSA
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Equipment Provision
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Partially Liberalized
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ICE, RACSA and around 15 private companies
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Sources: ICE, RACSA, AMNET and CIA - The World Factbook 2002
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