SUTEL opens public consultation on the spectrum reservation fee

The Superintendency of Telecommunications (SUTEL) has opened for public consultation the procedure by which the amount of the spectrum reserve fee to be paid by current holders will be calculated. The measure was adopted through SUTEL Council Agreement No. 025-060-2026 and was published this Monday, October 26, 2026, in La Gaceta No. 202, with a period of ten business days to receive observations.

The official notice, identified by reference IN202601134967, submits for consultation the document “Procedure for calculating the amount of the spectrum reserve fee to be paid by current holders.” The publication appears once in the official gazette and is signed by Luis Alberto Cascante Alvarado, Secretary of the Council.

The proposed resolution is not reproduced in the notice: the text refers to the institutional website, where it has been made available for consultation by interested parties. The publication also does not state amounts, calculation formulas, or the number of holders who would be affected by the procedure.

Ten business days to observe the proposal

The public consultation will be open for a period of ten (10) business days starting from the publication of the notice. Therefore, the count begins with the edition of La Gaceta No. 202 of October 26, 2026.

The document submitted for consultation can be reviewed at the link https://www.sutel.go.cr/audiencias/publicas, enabled by the Superintendency for this process.

The call is open: the notice invites all interested parties to participate and send their comments and observations regarding the subject under consultation.

Where and how to submit observations

Observations to the aforementioned procedure may be submitted through the following channels:

• At the SUTEL facilities in Guachipelín de Escazú, Oficentro Multipark, Tapantí building, fourth floor.
• From 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• By fax to the number 2215-68821.
• By email to gestiondocumental@sutel.go.cr.

In all cases, whoever submits their position must indicate their full name and the means to receive notifications.

A step prior to the final resolution

The notice identifies the document as a “proposed resolution under consultation,” meaning a text that is not yet in its final version and is exposed to the scrutiny of operators, specialists, and the public before the Superintendency closes it.

SUTEL Council Agreement No. 025-060-2026 is the basis invoked in the publication to open this process, and reference IN202601134967 identifies the procedure in the official gazette. The Superintendency is the authority that signs the call and will receive the observations at its Escazú headquarters.

The spectrum reservation fee is the payment that current holders must settle, according to the title of the procedure submitted for consultation. The way this amount is determined directly affects the costs for those who are currently spectrum holders and, consequently, the conditions of the service received by telecommunications users.

With the ten-business-day period already underway, the discussion regarding the calculation methodology remains open: any operator, business chamber, or interested person may express their views before SUTEL establishes the definitive procedure that will govern the collection of the reservation fee.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 202 of October 26, 2026, p. 86 (official reference: IN202601134967).