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ICE
Confirms Deal For 300.000 New GSM Cellular Lines
For
those waiting for a GSM cellular line there is
good news. The Instituto Costarricense de
Electricidad (ICE) yesterday signed a deal with
Ericsson de Costa Rica for 300.000 new lines.
The deal is an expansion of the 600.000 lines
contract between ICE and Ericsson and installed
in 2005.
Under the rules governing ICE's contracts, the
state institution can expand the existing
contract by 50% without having to tender a bid.
The same stipulation is included in the contract
for the 400.000 GSM lines installed by Alcatel
years earlier, however, due to the alleged
payoff scandal that saw this week the pleading
guilty of former Alcatel executive,
Christian Sapsizian,
and former ICE director,
Hernán Bravo,
ICE decided not to exercise the option.
Sapsizian pled guilty for violation of the
United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
Meanwhile, Bravo made a deal with Costa Rican
authorities for staying out of jail in exchange
for restitution and testimony against others
accused in the payoff, including former Costa
Rican president, Miguel Angel Rodríguez
(1998-2002).
ICE manager of telecommunications, Claudio
Bermúdez, said that the new lines will be
available for the end of the year, in time for
the Christmas season.
The contract is worth us$65 million dollars and
needs the approval of the Contraloría General de
la República (Comptroller's office).
With the deal, ICE will have 2.000.000 cellular
telephone lines for an average of 44 lines for
every 100 inhabitants.
ICE is also preparing a bid for an expansion of
the cellular network which will call for an
additional 1.5 million lines of the new cellular
generation known as G3. Those lines, if the
process is not bogged down in red tape, should
be available by the end of 2008.
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