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ICE
Mobile Operations Post us$146
Million Profit
The state monopoly on
telecommunications, the
Instituto Costarricense de
Electricidad (ICE), mobile
operations unit ended2005 with a
net profit of us$146 million, up
143% compared to 2004, local
daily El Financiero quoted
anonymous ICE sources as saying.
Revenues were up 32% to us$268
million compared to us$203
million in 2004, while operating
costs were us$123 million
The fixed line telephony
business resulted in a loss of
us$38.8 million for ICE. Costa
Rica has a population of 4.2
million habitants and 1.2
million cell phone users.
The telephony market is due to
be opened up as part of the
Central American and Dominican
Republic free trade agreement (CAFTA-DR)
- Tratado Libre de
Comercio (TLC) as it is known
locally - with the US.
Costa Rica is the only signatory
whose congress has still not
ratified the agreement.
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