News & Articles
June 21, 2010
ICE Keeping Competition At Bay, Charged With Unfair Competitiveness Practices
It is not surprising that the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) - state telecom - has been holding back competition in the opening of telecommunications, both in cellular services and internet and VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol), in the latter charging private operators high fees for an interconnection to the national telephone network operated exclusively by ICE.
ICE does not hide its charges of US¢4 cents for a connection to its fixed telephone and US¢11 cents for cellular to its competition. Both rates are much higher that ICE charges its own customers for the service.
Carolina Mora, spokersperson for the Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones (Sutel), said the government regulator has had to intervene in the matter and has opened an investigation against ICE after both cable operators, Amnet and Cabletica, filed notice.
Affected also by ICE's alleged unfair competitive practices are IP operators, Call My Way, Ticom, R&H International Services and Crisp.
On the other side of the competitive coin, WorldCom, BT Latim and Reico who get their connection from the Radiográfica Costarricense S.A. (Racsa), and ICE agency, are not complaining.
Experts in telecommunications argue that ICE is doing all it can to keep the competition at bay and maintain its competitive advantage, for its owns the infrastructure that competitors have to connect to.
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