Costa Rican utility firm/telecoms operator Grupo ICE has issued a statement confirming its plans to slow the pace of its investment in loss-making copper networks and concentrate on the deployment of fibre-optic and mobile technologies. Between 2015 and 2020 the company notes that its copper networks generated a loss of CRC453 billion (USD697.9 million), with widespread copper thefts contributing to the financial deficit.
Marco Acuna, president of Grupo ICE, commented: ‘One of our founding principles is to benefit the most vulnerable areas and provide services under the values of solidarity and universality. However, we must ensure the protection of public resources and seek a definitive solution to this situation.’
TeleGeography notes that Grupo ICE, which trades as Kolbi, ended 2021 with 443,684 PSTN subscriptions, down from a peak of 1.060 million in 2010.