SMS & Telecom Governance
Who Regulates Messaging & Telecom in Costa Rica?
Regulatory Authority
Superintendency of Telecommunications (SUTEL)
Governs all SMS traffic and telecom policies
Ensures compliance for businesses
Telecom Operators
Kolbi
Claro
Liberty
- Both operators provide infrastructure for enterprise SMS services
- Sender ID and content approval handled via their platforms
Telecom Market share in Costa Rica
In Costa Rica, Kölbi (ICE) leads the telecom market with around 55% share, followed by Claro with approximately 30%, while Liberty holds about 15% of the market.
Country Summary Snapshot
Costa Rica - An Overview
| Country Code | CR |
|---|---|
| Region | North America |
| Capital | San José |
| Currency | Costa Rican Colón |
| Language | Spanish |
| Calling Code | +506 |
| MCC | 712 |
| Mobile Number Portability | No |
| Two Way SMS supported | No |
| Character Limit | Operators in Costa Rica don’t support concatenated SMS. So, when Twilio receives a long message, it splits it into separate messages, and the delivery order isn’t guaranteed. |
| Concatenated Messages Support | No |
| SenderID Registration Required | Yes |
Regulation
SMS Regulations
Businesses and organisations must comply with Costa Rica’s telecom regulator, the Superintendency of Telecommunications (SUTEL), to send SMS legally. Separate regulations apply for domestic SMS traffic and for international messaging.
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Sender ID Registrations
The companies that are planning to send SMS in the Costa Rica must register their Sender ID. There are separate guidelines to register the Sender ID.
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