Washington irked by Costa Rica delay on cellphones

Two years after the official abolition of the six-decade monopoly of telecommunications by the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), a fully free market has yet to be achieved.

While other sectors are competing freely, progress on cellphones has made little progress.

The delay has irked the nation’s leading trading partner, the United States, which has sent notes on the issue to the Costa Rican authorities.

The notes have implied that sanctions could be imposed under the free trade agreement by the two nations.

Original source (in Spanish): La República