Liberty Latin America and América Móvil (Claro) have successfully acquired 5G spectrum rights in Costa Rica, promising a $32.5 million investment aimed at accelerating the deployment of next-generation mobile networks throughout the country.

Both companies have committed to paying $16.2 million each, covering the cost of the spectrum and the installation of a minimum of 1,552 transmission towers each, totaling 3,104 new radiobases over the next five years.

The outcome stems from a competitive auction conducted on Thursday by Costa Rica’s Superintendence of Telecommunications (Sutel) at the Hotel Sheraton in Escazú.

During the proceedings, two rounds of bidding transpired successfully, as confirmed by Federico Chacón Loaiza, Sutel’s president.

Liberty highlighted its acquisition of 20 Megahertz (MHz) in the 700 MHz band, 50 MHz in the 2,300 MHz band, 100 MHz in the 3,500 MHz band, and 400 MHz in the millimeter wave 26 GHz band.

Claro mirrored this acquisition.

The auction’s primary goal was to enhance technological access across Costa Rica, focusing particularly on 134 districts in rural and remote areas.

Consequently, the competition emphasized tower installation over the monetary value of the spectrum bands.

Coinciding with these developments, a subsequent auction is scheduled for January 24. This stage targets regional coverage, inviting bids from rural electricity cooperatives, including Coopealfaroruiz R. L., Coopeguanacaste R. L., Coopelesca R. L., Coopesantos R. L., and Ring Centrales de Costa Rica.

The auction will utilize any unsold spectrum from the first round, such as the three remaining blocks in the highly sought-after 700 MHz band typically favored by mobile internet users.

In an announcement highlighting competition in the telecom sector, participating firms are positioned to outpace Costa Rica’s national provider, the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), in offering commercial 5G services.

Following the auction’s conclusion, Sutel is tasked with a duty to compile and forward a technical recommendation for spectrum allocation to Costa Rica’s Ministry of Science, Innovation, Technology and Telecommunications (Micitt) within 25 working days.

Despite holding sufficient spectrum for 5G deployment, ICE’s rollout is sidelined due to an injunction lodged by its workers’ union, FIT-ICE.

This action, dated February 2024, challenges a government decree issued in August 2023, which excluded Huawei from the 5G provision market, citing national security concerns.

The legal process has since paused the implementation of the decree and the corresponding tender process, which initially saw participation from eight firms, including the Chinese telecommunications company.

While awaiting resolution, the differentiation between 4G and 5G technology remains significant.

Compared to its predecessor, 5G presents faster data transmission speeds and enhanced capacity for simultaneous device connectivity.

For instance, downloading a gigabyte of data on a 5G network takes approximately 10 seconds, compared to about two minutes over LTE (4G).

These advancements underscore 5G's suitability for high-demand scenarios involving IoT devices, smart sensors, and applications with substantial data requirements, like video streaming, online gaming, and cloud computing services.