ICE Plans To Clip RACSA's
Wings
The Instituto
Costarricense de
Electricidad (ICE) put
the brakes on the
expansion plans by
Radiográfica
Costarricense (RACSA) -
a subsidiary of ICE - to
invest millions in
internet service, to
stop the competition.
RACSA had plans to
invest us$300 million
dollars in a fibre optic
network that would
permit 360.000 internet
connections to
residential and
commercial customers.
The fibre optic network
would provide wide band
service of up to 20Mbps.
Notwithstanding, the
president of ICE, Pedro
Pablo Quirós, Racsa will
be stopped from
competing with the
institution and there is
no need for RACSA to
have its own fibre optic
network.
"Imagine the ridicule,
doing this 'A La Tica'
(Costa Rican way of
doing things), RACSA
digs trenches and then
after they close them,
we come along to add
things to it,
duplicating everything",
said Quirós.
ICE currently has a
fibre optic network
providing a connection
of up to 4Mbps, much
lower than that proposed
by RACSA.
The RACSA expansion plan
was approved by its
board of directors, of
which Quirós is a
member, last October 17
and includes an
investment of us$100
million dollars in a
data centre and another
us$100 million dollars
in applications and
value added services.
Quirós was emphatic that
RACSA should concentrate
on value added services
and applications and has
no need for a separate
fibre optic network.
The ICE president added
that the institution is
evaluating the transfer
of RACSA's 20.000
internet client to it,
adding that it would be
done as part of a
process of
restructuring, however,
no details on the plan
are yet concrete.
The president of RACSA,
Róger Carvajal, has yet
to offer comment on the
plans by the parent
company. Although some
300 Racsa employees sent
a letter to ICE
questioning the validity
of the plan to take away
internet from RACSA.
Quirós, like a hardnosed
parent, said that ICE is
preparing a proposal
where RACSA will be told
"this is what we want
and the way we want it".
The plan is expected to
be present to RACSA on
December 15.
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