Congress Approves Motion to Open Fixed Line Sector

Costa Rica's special congressional committee on telecommunications has approved a motion to open up the fixed line sector despite heavy lobbying from state-owend incumbent ICE, local newspaper Diario Extra reported.

ICE president Pedro Quirós previously asked the ruling PLN party to "leave fixed line regulations as they are," and not approve the motion presented late last month.

The motion is part of a bill to restructure the country's telecommunications system in preparation for liberalization of mobile and internet services.

Nevertheless, some members of congress support ICE's stance and have submitted a separate motion, headed up by the so-called strengthening committee, to try to reverse the decision to open the sector to competition, the report said.

Congressman Jorge Méndez, a member of the strengthening committee, said that if the fixed line liberalization bill takes effect it would only be a temporary measure until the reversal bill quashes it, since a subsequent law takes precedence over its predecesor. Also on the side of the monopoly, congressman Óscar Núñez said the law could be turned over in a matter of hours.

Costa Rica has agreed to open up mobile telephony and internet under the terms of the Cafta-DR free trade deal signed with other Central American countries and the US.

Posted to the site on 10th December 2007