ICE to Sell an Additional 40,000 GSM Lines"

Costa Rica's state-run telecoms and energy monopoly ICE plans to start selling 40,000 additional GSM lines starting May 15 to address the shortage in mobile service availability in the country, ICE said in a statement.

The company's previous sales of GSM lines have generated widespread interest with local press reporting long queues to get one of the lines.

Costa Rica completely ran out of new mobile lines in December 2004 and has been rapidly selling off TDMA lines from reclaimed delinquent accounts to alleviate the situation.

The company will sell 60% of the lines through allied commercial point of sales and the rest through its own branches. To buy directly from ICE those interested must make an appointment.

ICE announced it would sell a new batch of GSM lines in December of last year. Swedish equipment firm Ericsson (Nasdaq: ERICY) won a US$130mn contract in early 2004 to install new lines.

ICE has also been adding new services onto its network such as mobile internet and video conferencing.

Expanding the capacity of the company's network is seen as an important step to competing should Costa Rica's telecoms market be opened up.

Costa Rica will hold a public referendum in September on ratifying the Cafta free trade agreement with the US, which would oblige it to liberalize its telecoms market."

Posted to the site on 10th May 2007