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Government Finalizing Key Norms
Required for Liberalization
Costa Rica's government is in
the final stages of updating the
five most important norms due to
be changed in compliance with a
new telecoms law, local daily
Capital Financiero reported.
The norms in question are among
19 regulations that must be
updated no later than six months
after ratification of the new
telecoms law.
The government aims to pass this
law, along with other bills
authorizing partial
liberalization of the telecoms
market, before year-end. These
bills are now under discussion
by legislative committees.
The priority norms outline new
procedures for the regulatory
authorities: for awarding
concessions; for assigning and
managing spectrum; for
interconnection; and for service
pricing, the paper quoted
foreign trade ministry advisor
Nelly Vargas as saying.
The sector liberalization bill
calls for the creation of a new
regulator, SUTEL, dedicated
exclusively to the telecoms
sector. This sector today comes
under the jurisdiction of public
services regulator Aresep.
Last week, the government
published a decree authorizing
measures that will prepare state
owned Instituto Costarricense de
Electricidad (ICE) for partial
liberalization. Chief among
these measures is authorization
for ICE to increase its debt
load to a maximum of us$435
million.
Costa Rica is scheduled to
liberalize the internet and
private networks sectors in 2006
and mobile telephony in 2007, as
stipulated in a
soon-to-be-ratified Tratado
Libre de Comercio (TLC) - Free
Trade Agreement with the US and
the rest of Central America
(CAFTA).
Fixed line telephony is not
included in the agreement
because the government believes
demand is shrinking. Consumers
prefer mobile technologies,
which coincidentally are
preferable for increasing
penetration in neglected areas.
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