Kölbi, the commercial brand of Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), has maintained its lead in Costa Rica’s mobile telecommunications market. According to the 2024 Telecommunications Sector Statistics report, Kölbi holds a 38.8% share in postpaid mobile telephony, ahead of Liberty with 36.9% and Claro with 24.3%. The postpaid segment accounts for 89% of the mobile market’s revenue.
In mobile internet services, Kölbi leads with 42.2% of total subscriptions across all modalities—39.5% in prepaid, 42.2% in postpaid, and 84% in datacard usage. Liberty follows with a 34.5% share and Claro with 23.3%. This positions Kölbi as the top provider in what is described as the most intensive and fastest-growing service among customers.
During the first half of 2025, Kölbi achieved first place for coverage (with a score of 8.1) and service availability (98.9%). These results are supported by recent user experience measurements from SUTEL, which indicate that Kölbi’s network offers reliable connectivity throughout the country, including remote areas.
In fixed-line telephony, Kölbi holds a market share of 76.2%. For VoIP services, it leads with 53.5% of subscribers and is noted as a key driver behind increased national traffic for this service.
Leda Acevedo, ICE’s telecommunications manager, stated: “después de haber enfrentado la pérdida más grande en el mercado de telecomunicaciones en la Administración pasada, los resultados confirman la posición relevante de Kölbi y el compromiso adquirido en nuestra gestión de recuperar el lugar histórico. Ejemplos son su participación de mercado, que creció 4,7% de 2022 a 2024, así como la cantidad de clientes prepago, donde ganamos más de 10 puntos porcentuales de 2022 a 2024”.
The SUTEL report also notes that Kölbi maintains a strategic position in fixed internet services with a market share of 19%. The company continues to expand its fiber optic network nationwide and remains one of the top three operators in subscription television services.
