QCOSTARICA – Through the National Telecommunications Fund ( Fondo Nacional de Telecomunicaciones – Fonatel), the Costa Rican government will allocate US$57 million dollars in 2016 for social projects for internet access and subsidies for public Wi-Fi hotspots.
The funds will also go towards the delivery of equipment to centres in rural areas, reports El Financiero.
Fonatel’s funding come from 1.5 percent of the revenue of telecommunications operators and from their payments for spectrum, among other sources.
Currently, ICE is developing six projects financed by Fonatel for a total of US$8.1 million, Claro has four projects worth US$12.7 million, while Telefonica (Movistar) has three projects worth a total of US$4.9 million.
For this year, the allocation of six connectivity projects is planned, the introduction of subsidies for internet access for 140,497 poor families, the distribution of 10,000 computers for schools and the launch of a public tender for the installation of 240 Wi-Fi internet access points.