Costa Rica
Cellular Telephone
Service
(April 2009)
GSM, TDMA, 3G
and Prepaid
Service
Cellular
telephone
service in Costa
Rica is
currently
provided by the
state telecom,
the Instituto
Costarricense de
Electricidad
(ICE), who has
had a
telecommunications
monopoly in the
country for more
than 60 years.
However, that is
changing. In
2008, laws were
passed to break
the monopoly and
the creation of
a
telecommunications
regulator, who
is in the
process of
evaluating and
approving
cellular and
internet service
operators, to
compete with
ICE. That is at
least 9 to 12
months away.
While we wait
for the changes
and a
competitive
market, only
Costa Rican
citizens* or
legal residents
can subscribe to
cellular service
by ICE. Anyone
can purchase a
cellular phone
from any
retailer, but
getting it
connected is
another matter.
The requirements
to get connected
are:
1. Cedula
or proof of
Legal Residency
***
2. A
current utility
bill
3. The
cellular phone
to be connect
and proof of
purchase
4. Pay the
12.50 colones
deposit
* Corporations
are legal
citizens and can
subscribe to the
cellular
network.
Foreigners
sometimes use
this option,
registering or
purchasing a
"shelf"
corporation from
a lawyer and
subscribing in
the name of the
corporation.
This process can
be costly and
time consuming.
Be wary of
anyone offering
to sell your
their cellular
line or
promising to be
able to get you
one. By law,
cellular lines
are not
transferable.
Purchasing a
line in this
matter can
result in being
scammed and no
legal recourse
available, other
than filing a "denuncia",
which can take
years to get to
court.
A favourite
option by
visitors is to
rent.
Cellular
Telephone
Rentals
is one such
company that
rents cellular
telephone
service by the
day or month or
longer.
Be wary renting
from companies
that mail the
phone to your
home. They call
them "world
phones". They
have no way of
knowing if the
phone will work
in Costa Rica.
And most
important they
are not in Costa
Rica to provide
customer
service. A phone
to be used in
Costa Rica
cannot be tested
outside of Costa
Rica. Period.
Cellular phones
from the
US/Canada and
Europe can work
here under
"roaming". This
is a costly
option, with
calls costing up
to $4 per
minute. US
customers have
been told by
their carriers
that their
phones will work
in Costa Rica
but not of the
exact charges.
GSM vs TDMA
There are two
cellular service
networks
operating in
Costa Rica, GSM
and TDMA.
The local
telephone
company (ICE) is
phasing out the
TDMA service as
it is outdated
and TDMA
telephones do
not offer many
of the modern
features such as
cameras,
wireless
internet, etc.
In the past TDMA
worked best in
Costa Rica as
ICE fumbled with
technical and
political
problems with
the installers
of the GSM
network. Also
the lack of
sufficient radio
towers meant
coverage as
spotty in some
areas and almost
none in others.
However, that
has all changed.
ICE installed
more radio
towers and
upgraded its
network, in
preparation for
the introduction
of the 3G
network sometime
by the end of
2009 or
beginning of
2010.
3G
The third
generation of
cellular service
is taking time
to reach Costa
Rica, as the
state
telecommunications
agency has been
plagued with
political delays
to introduce the
service.
In early 2009,
the contract to
install the 3G
network was
finally awarded
and the network
is expected to
be installed and
operating by the
end of 2009, or
beginning of
2010.
Prepaid
Cellular Service
ICE
currently
promotes its
"Mobil Prepago"
service, which
allows customers
to prepay their
anticipated
cellular use by
depositing a
preset amount
and then
periodically
recharging the
account.
ICE's prepaid
service is not,
however, similar
to prepaid
service around
the world, where
a customer only
needs to
purchase a SIM
chip and install
it in their
"unlocked"
cellular phone.
ICE's prepaid
service
customers have
to satisfy the
same requirement
as regular
subscription
clients, thus
visitors or
no-residents
cannot connect
to the ICE
cellular
network.
For more
information on
ICE's cellular
service, rates
and services
like roaming, go
to:
grupoice.com |
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