What is happening with Costa Rica's 5G tender?

Spectrum bidding in Costa Rica is suspended once again, delaying the start of 5G services.

In recent days, state operator ICE filed an objection before the comptroller general to the tender documents so the deadlines established in the schedule are suspended until the case is resolved, regulator Sutel told BNamericas.

The objection, of a technical nature, comes after a previous suspension due to objections from the three operators, which forced Sutel to modify the terms and conditions, as well as the bidding schedule.

Bids were scheduled for October 11.

"The schedule will be redefined once the objection is resolved," the regulator said.

It is not known whether the auction date, previously scheduled for December, will be maintained.

Sutel’s aim is to award spectrum in the 700MHz, 2,300MHz, 3,500MHz, 26GHz and 28GHz bands.

The 2,600MHz band, currently held by ICE, could not be included since the operator appealed ICT ministry Micitt's 2023 decision to revoke part of this concession (about 70MHz) because it was not being used.

“The deployment of 5G networks has suffered considerable delays because the State should have done many things a long time ago,” Edwin Estrada, former communications undersecretary and current lawyer at the Ecija firm, told BNamericas.

Estrada blamed the delay on a lack of political will to carry out the agreements to return spectrum.

“The delay in 5G networks has a negative and incalculable economic impact,” he added.

In 2021, Sutel had estimated losses of US$1.13bn by 2024 if the executive branch did not move forward with the return of spectrum. “The impact that Sutel calculated at the time must have increased,” said Estrada.

RACSA LAUNCH

In mid-year, ICE subsidiary Racsa announced the launch of 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) using the 3.5GHz frequency.

This week, Nokia announced that it had been chosen by the company to deploy the autonomous network.

The project will enable 5G services to be offered in urban centers including capital San José, Cartago and Limón, as well as rural communities throughout the country.

The initial rollout includes 30 sites in major cities, with plans to deploy another 170 by the end of this year. The network is expected to expand to 500 sites in subsequent phases.

The company will use Nokia AirScale equipment, as well as management and automation solutions from the Finnish firm.