Costa Rica Telecoms Market Report

Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Publication Date: June 2025

Report Pages: 177

Analyst: Henry Lancaster

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Summary
Table Of Contents

Liberty Latin America completes acquisition of Movistar Costa Rica

In Aug 2021 Liberty Latin America (LLA) completed its acquisition of Telefónica Costa Rica (Movistar) — Costa Rica’s second-largest mobile network operator — for around $505 million. The deal followed on the heels of the failure of Millicom to buy Movistar earlier in the year, at a higher price. LLA’s local unit Cabletica will be able to combine its fixed telecom services with Movistar’s mobile offerings. A rebranding exercise is anticipated in 2022, with the Movistar brand likely to be phased out.

The fixed broadband market is one of the few parts of Costa Rica’s telecom sector to experience solid growth in recent years, both in size and revenue. The country’s fibre network expanded by 56% in 2020, reaching about 176,200km. Fixed-line broadband traffic volume also increased by more than 30%, year-on-year.

Other areas of the market have proven relatively lacklustre, with slow or even negative growth. Some of this can be attributed to the economic and social impacts of the pandemic, but the fixed-line and mobile sectors have both been struggling to produce decent results since well before the start of the crisis. The rollout of 5G network infrastructure in Costa Rica is unlikely to occur to any scale before 2023, but this may be one of the few remaining areas of opportunity open to investors outside of fixed-line internet and pay TV services.

Key developments

Liberty Latin America acquires Telefónica Costa Rica (Movistar) for $505 million.
Length of the national fibre network reaches about 176,200km.
Regulator prepares for multi-spectrum auction for 5G in 2022;
Mobile broadband penetration approaches 100%.
This report includes the regulator's market data for 2020, telcos' financial and operating data updates to Q3 2021, updated Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, assessment of the global impact of Covid-19 on the telecoms sector, and other recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report

Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), Cabletica, Claro, Liberty Latin America, Movistar, RASCA, Telecable, Tigo

Key statistics
Regional Latin America market comparison

Market characteristics
Market Leaders
Market Challengers
Market Emergents
TMI versus GDP
Mobile and mobile broadband penetration
Fixed versus mobile broadband penetration

Country overview
Covid-19 and its impact on the telecom sector

Economic considerations and responses
Subscribers
Infrastructure

Telecommunications market
Regulatory environment

Historical overview
Regulatory authority
Fixed-line developments

General Telecommunications Law
Market liberalisation
Interconnection and access
Number Portability
Roaming
Tariffs
Spectrum auctions
Universalisation Fund (Fonatel)
Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA)

Mobile market

Mobile statistics
Mobile data
Mobile broadband
Mobile infrastructure

Overview
5G
4G (LTE)
3G
GSM

Major mobile operators

ICE
Movistar Costa Rica
Claro Costa Rica

Fixed-line broadband market

Introduction
Broadband statistics
Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) networks
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks
Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) networks
Other fixed-line broadband services

Fixed wireless (WiMAX, WiBro, Wi-Fi)
Internet via satellite

Fixed network market

Major network operators

Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE)
RACSA

Telecommunications infrastructure

National telecom network
Internet Exchange Points (IXPs)
International infrastructure

Satellite networks
Terrestrial networks
Submarine cable networks

Wholesale

Appendix – Historic data
Glossary of abbreviations
Related reports

List of Tables

Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities – Costa Rica – 2021 (e)
Table 2 – Evolution of GDP in Costa Rica – 2011 – 2021
Table 3 – Number of authorised telecom service operators – 2011 – 2020
Table 4 – Growth in telecom sector revenue and annual change – 2011 – 2020
Table 5 – Change in telecom revenue by sector (C$ billion) – 2011 – 2020
Table 6 – Change in revenue market share by sector – 2011 – 2020
Table 7 – Growth in the number of mobile number portings – 2013 – 2020
Table 8 – Development of roaming revenue (SMS/MMS and voice) (C$ million) – 2013 – 2020
Table 9 – Fonatel investment in telecoms (C$ million) – 2012 – 2020
Table 10 – Fonatel covered premises, people – 2015 – 2020
Table 11 – Change in the mobile market share by operator – 2011 – 2020
Table 12 – Change in the number of mobile subscribers by main operator (million) – 2012 – 2020
Table 13 – Development of mobile revenue by service (C$ billion) – 2011 – 2020
Table 14 – Proportion of mobile service revenue by type – 2011 – 2020
Table 15 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2011 – 2026
Table 16 – Change in the number of prepaid and contract subscribers – 2010 – 2020
Table 17 – Change in the proportion of prepaid and postpaid subscribers – 2010 – 2020
Table 18 – Mobile voice traffic – 2011 – 2020
Table 20 – Development of prepaid and contract mobile ARPU (C$/subscriber/month) – 2011 – 2020
Table 21 – SMS and MMS traffic – 2011 – 2020
Table 22 – Average SMS traffic sent per user per month – 2014 – 2020
Table 23 – Decline in SMS/MMS revenue – 2011 – 2020
Table 24 – Growth in the number of mobile internet subscribers and penetration – 2011 – 2026
Table 25 – Mobile, broadband subscriptions enabled via Fonatel – 2014 – 2020
Table 26 – Growth in mobile internet revenue – 2013 – 2020
Table 27 – Growth in mobile internet traffic – 2013 – 2020
Table 28 – ICE mobile subscribers – 2010 – 2020
Table 29 – Movistar mobile subscribers – 2011 – 2020
Table 30 – Claro mobile subscribers – 2011 – 2020
Table 31 – Change in the number of MVNO mobile subscribers by provider – 2011 – 2020
Table 32 – Change in the proportion of fixed internet connections by data rate – 2015 – 2019
Table 33 – Change in the number of fixed internet connections by data rate (new style) – 2019 – 2020
Table 34 – Change in the proportion of fixed broadband subscribers by technology – 2015 – 2020
Table 35 – Fixed-line internet traffic and annual change – 2013 – 2020
Table 36 – Fixed-line broadband revenue and ARPU – 2011 – 2020
Table 37 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2011 – 2026
Table 38 – Growth in the number of cable modem subscribers and penetration – 2011 – 2020
Table 39 – DSL subscribers and household penetration – 2011 – 2020
Table 40 – Development of Cabletica's financial data ($ million) – 2019 – 2021
Table 41 – Growth in the number of Cabletica's fixed broadband premises passed – 2018 – 2021
Table 42 – Increase in the number of fibre broadband subscribers – 2010 – 2020
Table 43 – Change in the number of WiMAX subscribers – 2009 – 2020
Table 45 – Decline in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2011 – 2026
Table 46 – Change in the proportion of traditional fixed and VoIP lines – 2011 – 2020
Table 48 – Change in VoIP market share of subscribers by operator – 2011 – 2020
Table 49 – Change in PSTN and VoIP revenue (C$ million) – 2012 – 2020
Table 50 – Development of PSTN telephony and VoIP ARPU (C$ per month) – 2012 – 2020
Table 51 – Average PSTN telephony and VoIP revenue per minute (C$ per minute) – 2011 – 2020
Table 52 – Change in fixed-line telephony and VoIP traffic (billion minutes) – 2010 – 2020
Table 53 – Change in the average telephony traffic per subscriber (fixed-line and VoIP, minutes per subscriber) – 2010 – 2020
Table 54 – Development of ICE’s financial data (C$ billion) – 2010 – 2021
Table 55 – Growth in the number of Cabletica's fixed-line subscribers – 2018 – 2021
Table 56 – Growth in the number of Cabletica's RGUs – 2018 – 2021
Table 57 – Development of Cabletica's ARPU – 2018 – 2021
Table 58 – Growth in international internet bandwidth – 2011 – 2020
Table 59 – Wholesale fixed-line broadband lines and revenue – 2015 – 2020
Table 60 – Historic - Evolution of GDP in Costa Rica – 2000 – 2010
Table 61 – Historic - Mobile subscribers and penetration – 1998 – 2010
Table 62 – Historic - Internet users and user penetration – 1997 – 2015
Table 63 – Historic - Fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2000 – 2010
Table 64 – Historic - Broadband market share by technology – 2000 – 2008
Table 65 – Historic - Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 1997 – 2010
Table 66 – Historic - Cable modem subscribers and household penetration – 2000 – 2010
Table 67 – Historic - DSL subscribers and household penetration – 2002 – 2010
Table 68 – Historic - Growth in the number of mobile internet subscribers and penetration – 2009 – 2010
Table 69 – Historic - Growth in international internet bandwidth – 2007 – 2010

List of Charts

Chart 1 – Latin America Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Leaders
Chart 2 – Latin America Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Challengers
Chart 3 – Latin America Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Emergents
Chart 4 – Latin America - Telecoms Maturity Index vs GDP per capita
Chart 5 – Latin America – Mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration
Chart 6 – South America mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration
Chart 7 – Central America – mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration
Chart 8 – South America – Fixed and mobile broadband penetration
Chart 9 – Central America – Fixed and mobile broadband penetration
Chart 10 – Growth in telecom sector revenue and annual change – 2011 – 2020
Chart 11 – Change in telecom revenue by sector – 2011 – 2020
Chart 12 – Change in revenue market share by sector – 2011 – 2020
Chart 13 – Growth in the number of mobile number portings – 2013 – 2020
Chart 14 – Development of roaming revenue (SMS/MMS and voice) – 2013 – 2020
Chart 15 – Fonatel investment in telecoms – 2012 – 2020
Chart 16 – Fonatel covered premises, people – 2015 – 2020
Chart 17 – Change in the mobile market share by operator – 2011 – 2020
Chart 18 – Change in the number of mobile subscribers by main operator – 2012 – 2020
Chart 19 – Development of mobile revenue by service – 2011 – 2020
Chart 20 – Proportion of mobile service revenue by type – 2011 – 2020
Chart 21 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2011 – 2026
Chart 22 – Change in the number of prepaid and contract subscribers – 2010 – 2020
Chart 23 – Change in the proportion of prepaid and postpaid subscribers – 2010 – 2020
Chart 24 – Mobile voice traffic – 2011 – 2020
Chart 25 – Average traffic per mobile subscriber – 2012 – 2020
Chart 26 – Development of prepaid and contract mobile ARPU – 2011 – 2020
Chart 27 – Decline in SMS/MMS revenue – 2011 – 2020
Chart 28 – Growth in the number of mobile internet subscribers and penetration – 2011 – 2026
Chart 29 – Mobile, broadband subscriptions enabled via Fonatel – 2014 – 2020
Chart 30 – Growth in mobile internet revenue – 2013 – 2020
Chart 31 – Growth in mobile internet traffic – 2013 – 2020
Chart 32 – ICE mobile subscribers – 2010 – 2020
Chart 33 – Movistar mobile subscribers – 2011 – 2020
Chart 34 – Claro mobile subscribers – 2011 – 2020
Chart 35 – Change in the number of MVNO mobile subscribers by provider – 2011 – 2020
Chart 36 – Change in the proportion of fixed internet connections by data rate – 2015 – 2020
Chart 37 – Change in the number of fixed internet connections by data rate (new style) – 2019 – 2020
Chart 38 – Change in the proportion of fixed broadband subscribers by technology – 2015 – 2020
Chart 39 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2011 – 2026
Chart 40 – Growth in the number of cable modem subscribers and penetration – 2011 – 2020
Chart 41 – DSL subscribers and household penetration – 2011 – 2020
Chart 42 – Development of Cabletica's financial data ($ million) – 2019 – 2021
Chart 43 – Growth in the number of Cabletica's fixed broadband premises passed – 2018 – 2021
Chart 44 – Increase in the number of fibre broadband subscribers – 2010 – 2020
Chart 45 – Change in the number of WiMAX subscribers – 2009 – 2020
Chart 46 – Decline in the number of PSTN lines and penetration – 2010 – 2020
Chart 47 – Decline in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2011 – 2026
Chart 48 – Change in the proportion of traditional fixed and VoIP lines – 2011 – 2020
Chart 49 – Growth in the number of VoIP connections and penetration – 2010 – 2020
Chart 50 – Change in PSTN and VoIP revenue – 2012 – 2020
Chart 51 – Development of PSTN telephony and VoIP ARPU – 2012 – 2020
Chart 52 – Average PSTN telephony and VoIP revenue per minute – 2011 – 2020
Chart 53 – Change in fixed-line telephony and VoIP traffic – 2010 – 2020
Chart 54 – Change in the average telephony traffic per subscriber (fixed-line and VoIP) – 2010 – 2020
Chart 55 – Development of ICE’s financial data – 2010 – 2021
Chart 56 – Growth in the number of Cabletica's fixed-line subscribers – 2018 – 2021
Chart 57 – Growth in the number of Cabletica's RGUs – 2018 – 2021
Chart 58 – Development of Cabletica's ARPU – 2018 – 2021
Chart 59 – Growth in international internet bandwidth – 2011 – 2020

List of Exhibits

Exhibit 1 – Map of Telecom Maturity Index global ranking among countries in Latin America
Exhibit 2 – Generalised Market Characteristics by Market Segment
Exhibit 3 – Latin America – Market Leaders and market developments
Exhibit 4 – Latin America – Market Challengers and market developments
Exhibit 5 – Latin America – Market Emergents and market developments
Exhibit 6 – Major submarine cable networks connecting Costa Rica

Related Reports

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Costa Rica Telecoms Market Report

Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Purchase this Report

Liberty Latin America completes acquisition of Movistar Costa Rica

Key developments

Companies mentioned in this report

Key statistics

Regional Latin America market comparison

Country overview

Covid-19 and its impact on the telecom sector

Telecommunications market

Regulatory environment

Mobile market

Fixed-line broadband market

Fixed network market

Telecommunications infrastructure

Appendix – Historic data

Glossary of abbreviations

Related reports

Purchase this Report

Share this Report

TMT Intelligence

A platform to scale your intelligence tasks

Research Methodology

Hot Topics

News & Views