The two new mobile networks in Costa Rica have signed up around 500,000 customers since they launched last December.

According to Inside Costa Rica, Telefonica’s Movistar has some 300,000 customers, while America Movil’s Claro network has the remaining 200,000 customers.

It was not clear yet if these are customers closing their account with the former incumbent network, ICE or if they are holding dual SIM cards.

Both Telefonica and America Movil were granted licenses last January to break the monopoly held by ICE. The two companies paid US$95 million and US$77 million respectively for their licenses.

The government was obliged to open up the market to competition as a condition of entry into the Central American Free-Trade Agreement.

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