An Akron-based satellite telecommunications company has won its lengthy fight to do business in Costa Rica.
VSAT Systems has been trying to get a license from the Costa Rican government for more than three years to offer satellite services in the Central American country.
Company attorneys received a call “out of the blue” recently from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative saying the license finally would be granted and the company could expand into the country this week, VSAT Systems President Mike Kister said Monday.
“It’s a huge opportunity for us in terms of new sales and new customers,” he said.
VSAT Systems provides data services, primarily to companies, throughout North America, the Caribbean and Central America.
The Beacon Journal chronicled the company’s licensing difficulties in Costa Rica earlier this year.
VSAT Systems had accused Costa Rica of intentionally violating the Central America Free Trade Agreement because the country didn’t want competition for its government-owned satellite provider, Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE).
The company also complained that the government agency had locked up agreements with customers during the licensing delay.
Kister estimates the company spent about $400,000 on its fight. He said he’s not sure why the license was finally granted.
The U.S. Trade Representative couldn’t be reached for comment.
VSAT Systems, which obtained the license for its subsidiary Datzap, is “the first U.S. company to enter a marketplace where there had been nothing but a government monopoly for decades,” Kister said.
Datzap will offer customers better quality satellite services and access to the U.S. Internet than now available from the government, the company said.
Kister said the company has spent nearly $1.3 million upgrading its Akron headquarters over the last 18 months to handle the expansion into Costa Rica.
Costa Rica is an ideal market for satellite services because the terrain isn’t conducive to land-based utilities, Kister said.
VSAT Systems employs 30 workers. Kister said the company will hire engineers, network operators, administrators and accountants to help serve the new market.
The number of employees hired will depend on growth in Costa Rica, he said.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com.