Installation of 3G Network In Trouble; ICE
Decides Not To Cancel TDMA
December is only a few months away and the
Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad
(ICE) is scrambling to keep its promise of a
3G network in the country, even though it
has facing hurdles and accusations of
"sabotage" by ICE's president, Pedro Pablo
Quirós.
The contract to install the newest
generation of cellular networks that has
already been installed in most countries was
awarded to the Chinese firm Huawei for
us$235 million dollars and confirmed by the
Contraloría General de la República last
march, must be completed within six months.
The major hurdle faced by ICE and the
contractor is the location of the radio
towers, which according to Quirós is being
bought out by companies, forcing ICE to
locate alternate lots and negotiate a
purchase.
Acccording to the ICE president, someone has
obtained the list location needed by ICE and
making a deal with the owners of the land,
although Quirós failed to name those
involved,
Notwithstanding, Quirós assures that the
950.000 lines 3G network will be a reality
by the end of the year.
And in a move not to lose customers, Quirós
also announced that the older TDMA network
which was to have been discontinued by
December, will remain in service. The move
affects some 350.000 customers of the older
technology that still works best in many
parts of the country.
Quirós explained that cancelling the TDMA
service it would give people the option to
move to a competing network.
Customers who are currently on the TDMA
network can choose to continue with the
service or move over to the 3G when it is
available and will be able to keep their
numbers. |
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