Costa Rica has confirmed that it plans to commence its multi-band 5G auction on 23rd October 2023.
TeleSemana reports that regulator Sutel (Superintendence of Telecommunications) will hold a consultation on the tender over the next few weeks to finalise the specifications, and will publish the final details by 25th September.
Sutel’s Director General of Quality of Service and Spectrum Glenn Fallas Fallas confirmed that the various 5G concessions available would be associated with specific coverage obligations. Within the first 12 months of receiving their permits, 700MHz licensees will be required to cover 60% of the specified 134 ‘priority districts’. The remaining 40% must be covered by the end of 24 months.
By contrast, 2.3GHz and 3.5GHz licensees will be required to focus their efforts on areas that currently receive limited or no coverage. Accordingly, the obligations are not so steep, with 20% coverage required after one year, 50% after two years and 100% after three years of receiving the licence. The mmWave spectrum available in the 26GHz and 28GHz bands will not have any coverage obligations.
CommsUpdate reports that in addition to the aforementioned bands, further spectrum may be made available in the 2.6GHz and 3.5GHz bands ahead of the auction. Following the bidding process, Sutel expects to confirm the auction results on 19th December 2023.