The privatization of telecommunications in Costa Rica is still hampered by bureaucracy and lack of agreements in favor of consumers.

They are still 13 Costa Rican municipalities who are not authorizing the installation of “so called” cell towers because of lack of regulations in this respect, or because the regulations, where they do exist, contains disproportionate demands which make it “virtually impossible to install the structures.”

It was assumed that the existing towers belonging to the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) would also support the antennas of its competitors, but this has not happened, and it is common to see three antennae each on their own towers very close to each other geographically in order to provide cellular coverage.

The end result is a slow down of the schedules of new operators to comply with the plans and time coverage of their services, more visual pollution, and higher costs, which of course, are always paid, one way or another, by the consumer.

Source: Nacion.com