ICE’s contribution to the development of telecommunications in Costa Rica

In 1963, by means of Law of the Republic No. 3226, the development of telecommunication services in Costa Rica was entrusted to the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad—ICE), an autonomous institution that was efficiently supplying the country’s electricity service. The ICE was instructed to develop telecommunications abiding by the principles of universality of access, solidarity, subsidiarity and service at cost.

On that date began the task of modernizing and broadening existing incipient telecommunication systems, which were in the hands of private companies or municipalities and had limited coverage in the country’s main cities. The work that was entrusted to ICE was forged over the years and throughout the country’s territory so that its inhabitants would benefit from the communication systems they needed.

Today, thanks to ICE’s work, Costa Rica ranks among the first places in Latin America in terms of coverage, service access, and low prices; this has enabled most of the population to benefit from communication facilities integrating Costa Ricans into the world information society. A historical overview of the development and growth promoted by this institution is provided below.

Fixed telephony

In 1980, the National Telecommunications System built by ICE already had switching equipment in 143 localities, with a capacity of 176,998 installed fixed operating lines and a density of 7.75 lines for every 100 inhabitants. Since then, steady growth has been observed, leading to a total of 1,388,503 fixed operating lines in 2005, with a density of 32.10 lines for every 100 inhabitants, as illustrated in the chart below recording steady growth over the last 10 years.

Likewise, rapid growth in international traffic, the need to have more direct and affordable connections, and the demand for new services with greater bandwidth led to the growth of international systems using undersea cables.

By February 2001, the first customers were connected by undersea cable with landing point in Costa Rica, and by the year 2006, connections are operating on the Maya, Arcos, Panamericano, and Columbus II cables; and by the end of this year, it is forecast that it will have an installed capacity of 23 STM-1s.

In addition, there is another international connection by means of the Maya y Arcos cables—located in the Caribbean Sea—and now the international connection with the undersea cable through the Pacific is being promoted. These connections guarantee greater redundancy and security for the National Telecommunications System and build up the competitiveness of the corporate sector.

Efforts to offer high-capacity and high-quality carrier conditions have been extended along the national section by implementation of the Border-to-Border Project, and thanks to the laying of fiber optics, configured into six high-capacity loops based on DWDM technology, an extension of 3,800 kilometers of optic fibers will have been achieved by the end of 2006. On the basis of this project, the country will be connected from one end to the other and the currently installed network of fiber optics shall have been consolidated.

Mobile Telephony

Without a doubt, the year 1994 is of the utmost importance for the history telecommunication development in Costa Rica. That year, mobile telephony started being developed and, by the end of that year, there was a total of 18,196 services operating; by December 1995, the demand had reached 25,929 services.

At present, with the project of 600 GSM lines, as yet the largest implemented in mobile telephony, a million and a half lines have been installed, and when this project finishes Costa Rica will have risen from 21.7% to 35% on the international mobile phone teledensity index, ranking as the leader in Central America and among the first in Latin America.

Internet

In terms of Internet services, the principal challenge for ICE was to provide Costa Ricans with new technologies for access to large communication and information networks, which until recently were only used by corporations and governments of developed countries.

Thus, in 2002, the IP network project, also called the Advanced Internet Network (Red Avanzada de Internet—RAI), started being developed as part of the modernization of the National Telecommunications System, whose purpose was to guarantee meeting broadband demand and facilitating the development of innovative applications and contents.

Designing the RAI involves three fundamental components: the core of the network, comprised of six nodes, each one provided with a gigarouter; the distribution layer, comprised of 26 points; and finally the access layer, which connects 207 localities located throughout the country.

The installed capacity for advanced Internet services at the end of 2006 shall be 135,000 xDSL ports.

Taking advantage of the RAI, between 2002 and 2005, ICE designed and implemented various corporate access projects based on the IP Network. This network, which uses MPLS protocols, makes it possible to offer Virtual Private Networks (VPN), with a quality similar to the dedicated networks currently offered, and possible parallel broadband access via copper, fiber and wireless is being considered.

The above comes with the implementation of an Integrated Quality Management System and Business Understanding Agreements that strive to enhance the competitiveness of the corporate sector, ensuring quality and the availability of customer service.

Public Telephony

Public telephony is another service that has been developed to meet the needs of Costa Ricans. In 1980, the ICE had 2,330 public payphones, which accounted for a density of 1.02 phones for every 1,000 inhabitants; at the end of the nineties, however, the Costa Rican population had access to 10,245 public payphones, accounting for a density of 2.80 phones for every 1,000 inhabitants.

At present, there are 21,507 public payphones operating with coin or tokens, prepaid cards and chips, installed throughout the country, accounting for a density of 5 public phones for every 1,000 inhabitants. Furthermore, it is estimated that there is a total of 7,938 registered sales outlets throughout the country, where customers can purchase prepaid and chip cards.

ICE’s social commitment and responsibility made it possible to install public phone services for the blind, in addition to promoting the manufacture of prepaid cards in Braille for this group of persons.

Future prospects

At present, the ICE is focusing on projects that might enable its networks to evolve and to improve service quality permanently. With the purchase of SoftSwitch (platform for the integration of IP service applications and exchange), voice packeting is initially proposed, permitting the exchange of international and national voice traffic and, at the same time, obtaining greater efficiency in the transmission media. On the basis of this technology, IP core broadband infrastructure, and the access elements that are beginning to be rolled out massively with Ethernet/xDSL/WiMax connections, the institution is rapidly setting up a high-delivery convergence network that will enable it to become, over the short term, an operator that offers its customers an integrated voice, data, and video solution (triple-play operator).

In the country’s current situation, consolidation of the ICE continues to be topical. By the enactment of a new law for its charter, ICE will be able to keep up its competitive edge and offer the timely and high-quality telecommunication services that Costa Ricans deserve.

Current plans are focusing on improving customer relations. The major challenges are now service growth and innovation, evolution of infrastructure technology, and progress in line with the industry’s trends. ICE shall continue meeting them for the benefit of Costa Rica’s development.

Claudio Bermúdez
Assistant Manager Telecommunications Sector, ICE