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Could Be On Probation Come Monday
ICE, SUTEL
Feud Continues
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Many
ICE, SUTEL
Feud Continues
The feud between the Instituto Costarricense
de Electricidad (ICE), the sole provider of
telecommunications and the Superintendencia
de Telecomunicaciones (SUTEL), telecom
regulator, continues.
Last week the temporary closing of the SUTEL
was avoided when ICE finally made its
overdue quartely fees payment at the
eleventh hour, paying up some 463 million
colones.
Then came the demand to be compensated if
the SUTEL and the Ministerio de Ambiente,
Energia y Telecommunicaciones (MINAET) were
to take away ICE's unused radio frequencies.
And now, ICE insists that the SUTEL must
define norms and methodology to determine
rates and all must be done before anyone
gets a permit or license to operate in Costa
Rica.
According to Erberth Durán, a spokesperson
for ICE, the institution is within its
rights to make the demand and is part of its
administrative and procedural policies.
ICE will soon face competition in the
cellular, international calls and internet
sectors and possibly in the fixed line
services, as a number of possible contenders
have begun investigating the opportunities
and filing for a concession.
ICE has publicly vowed to use all "legal"
means to stall, if not block, the
competition.
The SUTEL in its report last Friday said
that ICE, as well as others, have unused
radio frequencies that can be assigned to
new operators, recommending to the MINAET
that there is room in Costa Rica for three
new operators to compete against ICE. |
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