Lex Mundi Telecommunications Regulation Multi-Jurisdictional Survey

Transcription

1 Lex Mundi Telecommunications Regulation Multi-Jurisdictional Survey CONTACT INFORMATION Kathya Araya Facio & Cañas Urbanizacion Tournon, San Jose, Costa Rica or P. O. Box COSTA RICA 1. What is the name and nature of the regulatory body(ies) in your jurisdiction? To which bodies (if any) are decisions appealed? MINAET : is the Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Telecommunications. It is part of the Executive Branch of the Government and it is the policy maker of the sector. The award of spectrum concessions are adopted by MINAET are subject to appeal before the General Comptroller s Office. SUTEL: it is the Telecommunications Superintendent, the main regulator. It is a council formed of four members, independent from the Government. It is a division from ARESEP (the Authority for the Regulation of Public Services). Some of SUTEL s decisions are appealed before ARESEP. 2. Has your jurisdiction adopted the WTO Basic Telecommunications Agreement? If yes, with what exceptions, if any? No. However, we are part of the US-DR-CAFTA (Central America Free Trade Agreement) in which the principles adopted by the WTO are followed.

2 3. Are operators in your jurisdiction privately or publicly/state owned? Some are state owned. The incumbent, ICE, is state owned. Most of the new entrants are private. 4. What are the primary differences between the regulation of wire line, wireless, satellite, cable and VoIP providers? Wireless, cable and VoIP providers are all subject to the same regulations, and are required an authorization to operate. Requirements to apply for an authorization are not complicated to meet. Authorizations are granted for 10 year extendable 3 times for 5 year periods. Mobile phone service and satellite providers are required a concession to operate which entails a more sophisticated procedure to achieve. Concessions are granted for 15 years extendable for a period of up to 25 years. 5. Are broadcasters regulated separately from telecoms? Yes. However, they need to have an authorization from SUTEL to operate other telecommunication services. 6. How are satellite earth stations and submarine cable landings regulated? There are no specific regulations at this point for satellite earth stations. UIT standards are required. Regarding submarine cable landings, there is always a requirement to be authorized by SUTEL or have a contract executed with an authorized provider in the country. Submarine cable developers are bound to offer capacity to operators. The route location of cable shall be authorized by MINAET. Among the requirements, an environmental impact study is needed. 7. How is the radio spectrum generally regulated? It is a scarce resource, assignment is subject to a bidding procedure called by MINAET and coordinated by SUTEL. Preparation of the first bidding procedure for a mobile phones service provider is taking place at this time. 8. Are any operators granted exclusivity? Yes. ICE, the state owned incumbent, is granted exclusivity in the case of wireline telephone service. 9. Are anti-competitive practices subject to regulation or general competition (e.g., antitrust) laws? They are subject to specific regulations.

3 10. What services have been liberalized or designated as competitive services? Except for wireline telephone services all the rest are liberalized. SUTEL has not adopted a resolution declaring what services are competitive after 7 months of SUTEL s existence, although it has granted around 20 authorizations to providers on services such as: VoIP, prepaid telephone services, subscription TV services. 11. Are there regulated tariffs or price lists? If so, for what types of services? SUTEL would adopt tariffs or price lists only in services not yet competitive. At this point there are no tariffs or price lists adopted by SUTEL. However, ARESEP has tariffs enacted for ICE s mobile phone services and for ISP s. 12. Are there restrictions on foreign investment in any types of communications companies? If so, what are the restrictions? No. 13. What are the approval processes for mergers and acquisitions? Do these vary by type of operator? There is a 30 days period for SUTEL to approve the request to have a merger or acquisition. SUTEL shall request the opinion of the Antitrust Commission of the Government before adopting its decision. The approval could involve the request for a public bidding for the sale or assignment of assets. There is no difference among operators. 14. Is interconnection between carriers mandatory? Yes. 15. Are interconnection fees/rates regulated? Yes, in case there is no agreement. 16. Must carriers make available network components to competitors? If so, what are fees/prices based on cost, or market rates? Yes. Based on cost.

4 17. Is there an obligation to serve all customers? If yes, is there a fund to subsidize eligible carriers? Which carriers contribute to the fund? Which carriers are eligible to receive these funds? Are broadband services subsidized or otherwise promoted through tax or other incentives? Yes. There is a universal access principle in effect. There is a fund to subsidize eligible carriers. They are chosen on a case by case basis, through a bidding process, depending on the annual list that SUTEL shall publish with proposed projects. In order to promote broadband services there is a tax which shall range between 1.5% and 3% over gross income. 18. Are there mandatory requirements to customer agreements (subscriptions, etc.)? Yes. Customer agreements are subject to approval by SUTEL. 19. Are there any general or telecommunication specific requirements as to data retention? Yes. The general principle of privacy and secrecy of customers data is fully applicable. Data not necessary for the service provider shall be deleted from its data base. These principles are not developed by a specific regulation. There is a requirement to annually submit to SUTEL all plans to avoid infringement of theses principles. 20. Is number portability mandatory? If so, for which types of carriers (e.g., wireline, wireless, voice over internet protocol)? Yes. For all. 21. Is equal access dialing selection mandatory? If yes, for which types of carriers? Yes. For all. 22. Is access or other contributions ( ADCs ) required of new entrants? Yes. Only for new concessionaires of radio spectrum. Requirements may include the obligation to grant service access to underdeveloped regions of the country. 23. Is VoIP regulated? If yes, to what extent? No specific regulation for this service, only as part of the regulation on all services quality.

5 24. Are any major changes to telecommunications laws expected in the near future? No. 25. Is resale of telecom services permitted? If yes, is this activity regulated? What is the process to become a reseller? Are foreign companies permitted to be resellers? Yes it is permitted. An authorization is required from SUTEL. The application process includes: a) SUTEL has a three day term to review the application and admit it for further study it or reject it. b) If there is need to clarify or file more information SUTEL grants a 10 day term for the company to complete the application. c) SUTEL issues a notice to be published in the official newspaper and in a private newspaper also, for oppositions in a term of 10 working days. d) Oppositions shall refer to technical aspects only related to the incompatibility of the application and the technical regulations approved by SUTEL. e) SUTEL shall grant a 5 working days hearing to the applicant with regards to the oppositions. f) SUTEL shall decide to approve or disapprove the application within 60 days from the date the oppositions are filed. If approved, a notice in the official newspaper.