Six ISPs get green light

The Tico Times reports that Costa Rica’s telecoms regulatory body SUTEL has authorised six companies to begin offering internet access services, voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) and other services, ending the long standing monopoly of ICE (and its subsidiary RACSA). The companies to have received concessions are Dodona, Intertel Worldwide, Worldcom de Costa Rica, Call My Way NY, Redes Inalambricas de Costa Rica and JASEC. ‘This is a historic step for the country,’ Carolina Mora spokeswoman for SUTEL told The Tico Times. ‘It is the first time telecommunications companies have been authorised to offer services after decades of a monopoly situation.’ Some 40 other companies still await approval from the regulator: of the total, ten are proposing to launch internet cafes and the remainder internet or VoIP services.