en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, ICE) has encountered new difficulties in its 5G network deployment, as the state-owned enterprise must re-tender certain sections, further postponing the project's launch.
The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic (Contraloría General de la República) recently ruled on appeals in ICE's tender process, confirming the award results for Lines 1, 2, and 3, but rejecting the tender process for the remaining three lines. This means the state-owned telecom operator must repeat part of the bidding procedure, requiring another adjustment to the original deployment timeline and consequently delaying the commercial launch of 5G services.
This new delay comes just months after ICE completed the awarding of major contracts for its 5G network. After analyzing complaints filed by multiple manufacturers, the Comptroller General determined that certain contracts must be re-tendered, requiring new bids for related components. This judicial decision has further lengthened a process already fraught with appeals, technical reviews, and supplier disputes. The controversy surrounding ICE's tender also involves participating manufacturers, who claim the process may have undermined competition and transparency. Although this intervention does not directly affect Costa Rica's public procurement actions, it subjects the process to greater international scrutiny. This appeal occurs against the backdrop of the United States actively promoting the strengthening of reliable supply chains and fostering a competitive environment for digital infrastructure and telecommunications development in the region.
ICE's case joins a series of delays that have long accompanied the evolution of Costa Rica's 5G ecosystem. Over the past few years, spectrum allocation and tender processes have continuously faced opposition from operators, manufacturers, and regulators, postponing the rollout of new technologies. While other Latin American markets accelerate the construction of commercial 5G networks, Costa Rica continues to resolve administrative and technical disputes affecting the state-owned operator's deployment schedule. This new delay poses additional challenges to ICE's digital infrastructure modernization, as 5G availability is a key enabler for enterprise use cases, industrial automation, the Internet of Things, smart cities, and advanced digital services.
