Ruling of the Constitutional Court Requires Municipalities to Accept the Installation of Cell Towers

Photo Tamarindo News Files

The Constitutional Court ruled in favor of cell phone tower placements, declaring them of national interest, and stated that municipalities cannot prevent or postpone such installation.

With this vote, as of 16 November, the Constitutional Court states that Costa Rica, as an entity, is obliged to provide sufficient and abundant infrastructure in telecommunications, to enable the markets opening under International Law.

  "Consequently, the country's municipalities cannot establish asymmetric regulations and requirements that prevent a uniform and standardized infrastructure," says the resolution.

Tamarindo News has reported on the strong opposition expressed by community groups national wide, who have approached different authorities to request regulations and planning as to this regards. In many cases, they have shown a clear position against the construction of these structures in their communities, since they find them potentially harmful to health, given the negative effects of the electromagnetic waves on humans, as reported in some studies.

Tower construction companies, Claro and Movistar, especially – as new players in the country’s market–   have faced cumbersome procedures in the municipalities to develop their mobile phone networks in the absence of regulations or refusal of local governments to issue regulations to allow the construction of these structures.

  "This is a topic of a national nature and trade that exceeds the realm of the merely local or cantonal context. This topic was declared to be of public interest under Article 74 of the Law of the Regulatory Authority of Public Services," reads the ruling.

As of October, the Constitutional Court has received almost 30 appeals filed by citizens that are against the installation of cellular towers.