State-owned telco El Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) is looking for a strategic partner in the mobile market in order to compete against other operators, according to local media reports.
Local newspaper El Financiero cited ICE’s CEO,…
State-owned telco El Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) is looking for a strategic partner in the mobile market in order to compete against other operators, according to local media reports.
Local newspaper El Financiero cited ICE’s CEO, Eduardo Doryan, saying the company was looking at operators in the region to see which partnership would work. He also suggested that ICE was looking to expand in Central America.
The Costa Rican telecoms market is set to be revolutionised next year when new mobile operators enter the market and end ICE’s monopoly.
In an auction held on 14 December, two telcos – Telefonica and Claro, owned by the America Movil group – bid for spectrum in the 850MHz, 1,800MHz and 2,100MHz bands.
Three other telcos – Tigo (a subsidiary of Luxembourg-based Millicom), Digicel and Cable & Wireless – also expressed an interest in the auction, although they did not bid.
These three telcos could be possible candidates to become ICE’s strategic partner. Doryan reportedly did not deny that ICE was considering them, although he also said that the Costa Rican telco was considering other companies that operate with broadband, data centres or submarine cabling.
