The petitioner filed an action to enforce constitutional rights (acción de amparo) against the Costa Rican Electricity Institute and the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission because his community did not have Internet or cellular phone service, and thus their right to communications was being violated. He asserted that the defendants had refused to take the necessary actions to provide these services. The Court ruled in favor of the petitioner and ordered the defendants to conduct an assessment of the possibility of installing the infrastructure needed to provide Internet and cellular phone services in the plaintiff’s community.

Carlos Esquivel Esquivel lived in the community of Santa Ana de Nicoya in Costa Rica, which did not have Internet or cellular phone services. The Costa Rican Institute of Electricity had conducted several studies showing that providing Internet and cellular phone services in the town would not be profitable. Mr. Esquivel filed an action to enforce constitutional rights against the Electricity Institute, requesting that these services be provided to his community. The Court ruled in favor of the petitioner and ordered the defendant to conduct an assessment of the possibility of installing the infrastructure needed to provide Internet and cellular phone services in the petitioner’s community, within a maximum of six months. It also ordered the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission to determine whether this request could be included among the projects funded by the National Telecommunications Fund (Fondo Nacional de Telecomunicaciones, FONATEL).

In this case, the Supreme Court of Costa Rica had to determine whether the State had the obligation to ensure the provision of Internet and cellular phone service throughout the country.

The Court began by explaining that universality is one of the guiding principles of telecommunications services. Thus, in order to achieve access to information and knowledge for the entire society, the priority for investments should be the development of communications infrastructure. The State must ensure that all remote areas of the country receive access to high-quality, efficient telecommunications services in a timely fashion, at affordable and competitive prices. The cost of investments in infrastructure installation and maintenance may not be a reason for failing to create the infrastructure needed to provide these services. In the opinion of the Court, any provision of a public service must be designed to foster improvements in people’s quality of life, and not simply viewed in terms of financial impact.

In light of the foregoing considerations, the Court ruled in favor of the petitioner and ordered the Costa Rican Electricity Institute to conduct an assessment of the possibility of installing the infrastructure needed to provide Internet and cellular phone services in the petitioner’s community. It also ordered the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission to determine whether this request could be included among the projects funded by the National Telecommunications Fund (Fondo Nacional de Telecomunicaciones, FONATEL).