Costa Rica’s telecom monopoly is coming to an end. The nation’s telecommunications regulator Sutel has granted mobile operators Claro (Carlos Slim’s América Móvil) and Telefónica’s Movistar the mobile numbers they requested in August and September. Now, they are able to start operations in the country. The companies have been notified and each one has 1 million lines and can now start signing up customers.
Movistar may be using the 6 prefix, and Claro the 7. The state telecommunications company, Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), will continue with its 8 prefix for cellular customers and 2 for fixed lines.
Both Claro and Movistar say they are ready to enter the market. While announcing its financial results, América Móvil said that it expects to launch its services in Costa Rica within the next 15 days. Earlier this month, Telefónica launched a presubscription process.
The operators signed an interconnection agreement with ICE following technical tests on communication between the networks and billing for the use of another operator’s network. The entry of Telefónica and America Movil ends a state monopoly of almost half century.
América Móvil obtained a license to operate in Costa Rica in a public auction in January. The company was granted the use of 70 MHz of spectrum in the 1.8 MHz and 2.1 MHz bands for a period of 15 years.
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