Costa Rican company Radiografica Costarricense SA (RACSA, a Grupo ICE company) has claimed a 5G first in the country with the launch of 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) services on the market, supported, it says, by the country's first and only network designed for this technology.
Using the 3.5GHz band, in which it apparently holds a 100MHz block, RACSA will target its solutions at companies, institutions and SMEs, and, it says, will place Costa Rica among the countries with cutting-edge connections.
As RACSA explains, FWA services on the 5G network offer high speed – up to one gigabit per second – for commercial and corporate segments, from a tower to the customer location without the need for cables. They allow simultaneous connection of devices without interruptions or speed losses.
Marco Acuña, president of Grupo ICE, explains: “RACSA will use the frequency it has been given to deliver the country's first 5G network, designed and built from scratch, to meet the high data demand needs of its customers.”
RACSA is promoting its 5G wireless internet services to interested organisations and companies on its website, where they are invited to enquire about the service.
BNamericas says that state-owned Costa Rica internet provider RACSA is a subsidiary of state telco ICE, and offers internet and voice services. It manages subscriber connections to ADSL internet while ICE provides connectivity via its frame-relay ATM network. RACSA was founded in 1964.
RACSA seems to have beaten mobile operators to a commercial 5G offering, albeit with a very specific form of 5G and spectrum. We reported in May that Claro had become the third operator to launch 5G in Costa Rica, though the country’s operators are highlighting trials and tests rather than commercial availability as they await delayed 5G spectrum auctions.
