Costa Rica’s superintendent of telecommunications, Sutel, announced that the Spanish group El Corte Inglés won the bidding process to serve and administer number portability in the country.
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Sutel chose El Corte Inglés as, according to the agency, the number portability committee made up of operators and phone providers did not reach a consensus on the selection. Four of the five members voted in favor of El Corte Inglés, while the Costa Rican Electricity Institute requested that the process declared unsuccessful.
Sutel noted that in case an agreement among the operators and suppliers could not be reached, Sutel, as a facilitator and guarantor of users’ rights, would make the decision. In a statement, Sutel said El Corte Inglés has extensive experience in providing this service in other countries such as the Dominican Republic, Colombia and Paraguay. The operators and suppliers are responsible for paying the selected company for number portability services.
Number portability should be an important step following the end of the telecom monopoly in Costa Rica. During the second half of 2011, Claro and Movistar got the green light to start operating in the market, and Costa Rica saw its mobile penetration rise.
