Costa Rica's comptroller clears appeals, letting state telecom ICE proceed with 5G
The gist
Costa Rica's comptroller rejected appeals and confirmed ICE's re-award of backhaul lots to ITS for about US$38mn.
ICE, the only major Costa Rican operator without 5G, has faced nearly three years of delays.
How it unfolded
- 2023ICE's first 5G tender was declared void.
- Jul 2025ICE launched a second 5G tender for about US$250mn, which drew objections that forced modified terms and pushed bid receipt to October.
- Apr 2026ICE awarded the access network to Ericsson and the backhaul to Coasin, for a total investment of US$220mn that included resources for the TAM-1 submarine cable.
Key terms
- comptroller
- A senior management position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting in an organization.
- backhaul
- In a hierarchical telecommunications network, the intermediate links connecting the core network to small subnetworks at the edge.
- tender
- A formal, structured procedure for soliciting competing offers from potential suppliers or contractors for works, supply, or service contracts.
Source: Wikipedia