Why are operators holding up Costa Rica's 5G tender?

The long-delayed auction for 5G spectrum in Costa Rica has hit another snag, as mobile operators Claro, Liberty and ICE filed objections that have halted the process. 

After months of anticipation following previous delays, the auction is now on hold while the country's comptroller general reviews the operators' claims.

In late August, telecom regulator Sutel decided to suspend the deadline for receiving and opening bids for the 5G spectrum auction until the comptroller rules on the objections raised by the three operators.

Sutel had been preparing to auction 90MHz in the 700MHz band, 100MHz in the 2300MHz band, 300MHz in the 3500MHz band, 1250MHz in the 26GHz band and 2000MHz in the 28GHz band.

Sources from Sutel's press office informed BNamericas that the regulator has already issued its technical response to the operators' concerns, but the auction will remain on hold until the comptroller’s final decision is issued.

The objections made by the operators are the following: 

CLARO

Claro, a subsidiary of América Móvil, objected to the fact that obligations arising from the eventual concession in this process would not apply to other concessionaires that already have frequencies allocated for 5G services.

State-owned operator Racsa and private company Liberty are offering 5G services in Costa Rica using spectrum in the 3.5GHz band, a key band included in the current auction and critical for 5G deployment.

Claro’s objection also underscores that the tender rules must address limitations regarding access to shared infrastructure, such as space on utility poles.

LIBERTY

Liberty criticized the decision to exclude current operators from participating in the second phase of the bidding process, which is intended to prioritize regional operators to ensure wider regional coverage. Liberty argued that this restricts competition.

“The more bidders there are, the greater the competition for spectrum, which benefits the administration and, ultimately, the public interest,” Liberty stated in a clarification document.

In its objection to the comptroller, Liberty also argued that details such as spectrum pricing and the required infrastructure deployment should have been disclosed in the initial phase of the multi-stage bidding process, not during the final selection phase.

ICE

State-owned ICE contends that the spectrum caps outlined in the auction were not properly supported by existing regulations and that Racsa’s spectrum should not be considered part of the same economic interest group as itself, as that prevents ICE from competing in the auction.

Additionally, like Liberty, ICE argues that spectrum pricing and infrastructure requirements should have been revealed earlier in the process, along with other concerns.