High Cost of
Phones Cools Off
Costa Ricans On
3G
The sale of 3G
cellular lines
in Costa Rica
has not gone the
same way as in
the past, where
within weeks the
majority and
months the total
of all new lines
issued were
bought like the
proverbial
pancakes.
No, the 3G
lines, although
are selling, the
Instituto
Costarricense de
Electricidad
(ICE) has had to
start promoting
to warm
consumers to the
new lines.
The major reason
for this is the
high cost of 3G
phones, which
generally run
into the
hundreds of
dollars for a
basic unit with
a decent browser
to take
advantage of the
3G mobile
internet.
In fact, one of
the least
expensive 3G
phones is the
Nokia 2730 that
sells in Costa
Rica for ˘90.000
colones. While a
similar GSM
phone, the Nokia
1208, runs only
$30.000 or less.
ICE introduced
the 3G service
last December
with 950.000
lines. Today it
has sold only
300.000.
Although there
is no difference
in the cost of
the services,
the favourite
today in Costa
Rica is the GSM
and that is due
to the cost of
the units.
Both the 3G and
GSM basic
services runs
under ˘4.000
monthly. The
cost of text
messaging and
voicemail use is
the same. The
difference is in
the mobile
internet.
While GSM only
offers basic
internet
connection with
connectivity up
to 128 Kbps, the
3G allows
connection up to
1 Mbps. But for
that one needs a
3G phone and
decent browser
to surf the
interent and to
receive and send
emails. And they
are not cheap.
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