Claro (formerly CODETEL) is the largest telecommunications company in the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
and provides local, long-distance, and wireless voice services, as well as
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
and
IPTV
Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded media, ...
services, to approximately four million customers.
History
Until 1930, telephone service had been administered by the government, but when the
Hurricane San Zenon destroyed all the facilities, the Dominican government granted exclusive franchise for telecommunications services to the Anglo Canadian Telephone Company on November 11, 1930.
CODETEL began in the Dominican Republic in 1932 as a
subsidiary
A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...
of the U.S. firm
General Telephone & Electric Corporation, and held a
de facto monopoly
A ''de facto'' monopoly is a monopoly that was not created by the government. It is most often used in contrast to ''de jure'' monopoly, which is one that is protected from competition by government action.
In a free market without government in ...
until the mid-1990s, when
Tricom
In 2008, Tricom was the first Australian broking house in many years to fail to settle its trades with the Australian Securities Exchange, ASX. Controversially, it held ownership of shares that its borrowers had used margin loans to purchase until ...
began operations. After the Dominican government passed Law 153 in 1998 providing for effective
liberalization
Liberalization or liberalisation (British English) is a broad term that refers to the practice of making laws, systems, or opinions less severe, usually in the sense of eliminating certain government regulations or restrictions. The term is used m ...
and improved pro-competition regulation, new entrants had eroded CODETEL's predominant position with the incumbent capturing only 50% of the international traffic to the United States (accounting for 70% of the total international traffic). In 2000 Verizon was formed after a merger by
Bell Atlantic
Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...
and GTE, with CODETEL continuing operations as a subsidiary of the new company. In December 2003, CODETEL announced the commercial launch of its Flash Movil
3G network, a
CDMA2000
CDMA2000 (also known as C2K or IMT Multi‑Carrier (IMT‑MC)) is a family of 3G mobile technology standards for sending voice, data, and signaling data between mobile phones and cell sites. It is developed by 3GPP2 as a backwards-compatible ...
1X voice and high-speed data network using equipment, software and services from
Lucent Technologies
Lucent Technologies, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications equipment company headquartered in Murray Hill, New Jersey. It was established on September 30, 1996, through the divestiture of the former AT&T Technologies business u ...
.
Verizon Dominicana
Previously known as CODETEL (Compañía Dominicana de Teléfonos), the name change was announced February 2, 2004, at the
National Theater of Santo Domingo in a ceremony to welcome the
Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...
brand to the country.
Verizon Dominicana was an independent country bought by Codetel and now is Claro.
América Móvil buyout
On April 3, 2006, Verizon agreed to sell its stakes in
Verizon Dominicana along with
Telecomunicaciones de Puerto Rico
Claro Puerto Rico is one of the largest telecommunications services company in Puerto Rico. It is headquartered in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, and has operated for almost a century offering voice, data, long distance, broadband, directory publishing ...
Inc. (TELPRI) in Puerto Rico to
Carlos Slim Helú
Carlos Slim Helú (; born 28 January 1940) is a Mexican business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. From 2010 to 2013, Slim was ranked as the richest person in the world by the ''Forbes'' business magazine. He derived his fortune from h ...
's group
América Móvil
América Móvil is a Mexican telecommunications corporation headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico. It is the 7th largest mobile network operator in terms of equity subscribers and one of the largest corporations in the world. América Móvil is a ...
for $3.7 billion. On January 31, 2007, the company's new owner
América Móvil
América Móvil is a Mexican telecommunications corporation headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico. It is the 7th largest mobile network operator in terms of equity subscribers and one of the largest corporations in the world. América Móvil is a ...
announced that the CODETEL brand would be used for its landline services and
Claro for mobile services.
Present
On February 27, 2009, CODETEL launched Claro TV, a digital TV service based on
Microsoft Mediaroom
Mediaroom is a collection of software for operators to deliver IPTV (IPTV) subscription services, including content-protected, live, digital video recorder, video on demand, multiscreen, and applications. These services can be delivered via a rang ...
for urban areas and
Direct To Home
Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...
Satellite for rural areas. On January 20, 2011, Oscar Peña, the company's president, announced the company's brands would be unified and would become Claro as a part of a global unification across Latin America, where América Móvil's services are under the Claro brand.
On March 21, 2012, Claro announced the availability of Fiber to the Home plans for consumers.
Services
Consumer
Claro Multiplan offers Telephone, Internet, and
IPTV
Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded media, ...
services. The bundles also include discounts on mobile Internet and mobile TV.
Internet
Claro provides
Broadband Internet access
Internet access is the ability of individuals and organizations to connect to the Internet using computer terminals, computers, and other devices; and to access services such as email and the World Wide Web. Internet access is sold by Internet ...
to its customers over fixed
ADSL2+
G.992.5 (also referred to as ADSL2+, G.dmt.bis+, and G.adslplus) is an ITU-T standard for asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) broadband Internet access. The standard has a maximum theoretical downstream sync speed of 24 megabits per secon ...
,
Fiber to the Home
Fiber to the ''x'' (FTTX; also spelled "fibre") or fiber in the loop is a generic term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber to provide all or part of the local loop used for last mile telecommunications. As fiber opt ...
and mobile UMTS/HSPA. Speeds offered over Fiber are 20/2 (under a multiplan) and 100/5 (standalone).
As of August 2013, Fiber to the Home service is currently available in Altos de Arroyo Hondo II (Cerros de Arroyo Hondo, Cuesta Hermosa II, Isabel Villas, Altos de Arroyo Hondo II), La Julia, Evaristo Morales, La Esperilla, Naco, Serrallés, Paraíso, Los Cacicazgos, Julieta Morales, El Vergel, Piantini, Bella Vista, Viejo Arroyo Hondo, La Castellana, Nuevo Arroyo Hondo, Quisqueya, Urbanización Renacimiento, Urbanización Real, Mirador Norte, Arroyo Hondo III, Mirador Sur, Res. Carmen María, and Los Millones in
Santo Domingo
, total_type = Total
, population_density_km2 = auto
, timezone = AST (UTC −4)
, area_code_type = Area codes
, area_code = 809, 829, 849
, postal_code_type = Postal codes
, postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional)
, websi ...
and in Cerros de Gurabo I and II, Quinta de Pontezuela, Las Carmelitas, and La Trinitaria in Santiago.
Speeds offered for fixed ADSL2+ internet on standalone plans and on Multiplans are as follows:
As of September 2012, Claro's Multiplan download speeds can be doubled for an additional monthly cost.
Claro's mobile internet packages are as follows:
Television
Claro offers fixed television services over
Microsoft Mediaroom
Mediaroom is a collection of software for operators to deliver IPTV (IPTV) subscription services, including content-protected, live, digital video recorder, video on demand, multiscreen, and applications. These services can be delivered via a rang ...
and
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...
. It also provides mobile television services ove
Rok TV Mobile television services are offered as daily and monthly packages.
Telephony
Claro offers fixed landline telephone services as well as services over CDMA 1xEV-DO in 800/1900 MHz, GSM/GPRS/EDGE in 850/1900 MHz, and 3G
UMTS
The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation mobile cellular system for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed and maintained by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), UMTS is a component of the Inte ...
/
HSPA
HSPA may refer to:
* High Speed Packet Access, a mobile broadband technology
* Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association
Education
* High School Proficiency Assessment
* Humphrey School of Public Affairs
The Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Aff ...
service on the 850 MHz band.
Enterprise
Claro offers their enterprise customers mobile and fixed telephone, mobile, fixed, dedicated, and
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...
Internet, satellite tv,
Internet backhaul,
colocation,
web hosting
A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that hosts websites for clients, i.e. it offers the facilities required for them to create and maintain a site and makes it accessible on the World Wide Web. Companies providing web h ...
, IPTV, equipment rental, and SMS services.
Management
The current president of Claro Dominican Republic is Ing. Rogelio Viesca Arrache.
Notes
External links
Claro República DominicanaAmérica Móvil
{{DEFAULTSORT:Claro Republica Dominicana
Telecommunications companies of the Dominican Republic
América Móvil
Mobile phone companies of the Caribbean