Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), Costa Rica's state-owned operator, has selected Ericsson to deploy the country's 5G network, TelecomTV reported.

The award hands the Swedish vendor one of Central America's most closely watched network builds. ICE, which dominates Costa Rica's mobile market through its Kölbi brand, will lean on Ericsson for radio access equipment and associated services as it introduces fifth-generation mobile services to the country.

Why does the vendor choice matter?

Costa Rica has moved more slowly on 5G than neighbours such as Panama and El Salvador, where operators have already launched commercial next-generation services. ICE's decision to go with a single major vendor consolidates the rollout under one integration partner rather than splitting the network between suppliers.

Ericsson has supplied ICE's mobile network for years, giving the Swedish company an incumbent's advantage in the tender. The selection also extends Ericsson's footprint in Latin America, a region where it competes aggressively with Huawei, Nokia and ZTE for operator contracts.

What is the context for Costa Rica's 5G push?

Costa Rica's 5G ambitions have been tied up with policy debates over spectrum, security and Huawei's role in Latin American networks. The United States has pressed governments in the region to exclude Chinese vendors from critical infrastructure, and Costa Rica's authorities have signalled that its 5G build would follow that line. That backdrop effectively narrowed the field of realistic suppliers for ICE to Western vendors, with Ericsson and Nokia the leading European candidates.

ICE, as a fully state-owned operator, must also work within Costa Rica's public procurement rules, which can stretch the timeline between vendor selection and active deployment. The operator has already carried out 5G pilots as it prepared the ground for a commercial launch.

What comes next?

With the vendor contract settled, attention shifts to spectrum assignment and the pace of the physical rollout. ICE has said it intends to bring 5G to the capital, San José, first before extending coverage more widely. The commercial launch date will depend on how quickly the regulator frees up additional mid-band spectrum and how fast Ericsson can deliver and install equipment under the contract.