Getting Internet Access in Costa Rica
Written by JohnK
Looking to get online? Look no further…
If you’re looking to get Internet access for your home or office, Costa Rica has a few options that should fit your budget. For now, all Internet traffic goes through Grupo ICE, the state-owned power and communications company that has a monopoly on the market. Almost all the services require you to sign a contract plus pay a refundable deposit but these are not significant.
Here is a summary of the different services available, pricing and their pros & cons.
Dialup
This option allows you to connect to the Internet using your home phone line. With a maximum download speed of 56 kbps, this service is fine if you just want to check your email or post to your blog once in a while. If you’re going to be doing much more than that, the slow speed may drive you nuts. Another downside of this option is that you can’t speak on your phone and be online at the same time. This service is provided by RACSA and there are a few different service plans available:
• Economy Plan. Monthly plan at $4.95 per month + 4.10 colones per minute for phone time.
• 900-en-linea. This is a pay-as-you-go plan at 11.10 colones per minute (including the phone call rate)
• Prepaid internet access cards. Available for 1,800 colones for 5 hours to 5,500 colones for 15 hours of use.
ADSL
Costa Rica’s high speed internet service that works through your phone line, while still allowing you to use the phone normally, is the most widely used option. This service is offered by ICE and is called “@celera” which means “to speed up”. The rate for this starts at $19/month plus 21,000 colones for installation.
Cable Modem
This type of access is available only to people who have CableTica or Amnet cable service so it is mostly restricted to the bigger towns. Rates start at $17/month for 256/64 kbps to $169 for the top-end at 4Mb/1Mb plus a small fee for modem rental.
WiMax
WiMax is a new broadband service that allows you to access the Internet from your home or office via a wireless antenna. Starting at $29 per month for 512/256 kbps, you also have to take into account that you have to pay a small monthly fee for modem rental. WiMax is only available in San Jose, Heredia, Cartago, Escazú, Santa Ana for now although it is expanding to Alajuela and other cities shortly.
Internet Cafés
Virtually every small town in Costa Rica has an Internet Café - some people say they’re almost as common as churches and soccer fields. Rates vary and usually increase as you get farther away from San José. You can expect to pay anywhere from 300 in San Jose to 1,500 colones per hour along the coast or tourist destinations. Internet Café’s are highly recommended as they’re relatively cheap and you don’t have to worry about getting your expensive laptop stolen.
Free WiFi Hotspots
RACSA is offering free Wireless Internet access in the following places:
Juan Santamaría International Airport, Alajuela
Multiplaza, Escazú and Este
Paseo de las Flores Mall, Heredia
Plaza Real Cariari, San Antonio de Belén, Heredia
Terramall, Trés Ríos/Cartago
Metrocentro Mall, Cartago
There are also many hotels, bars and restaurants that provide free wireless access so ask around. Bagelman’s is one of my favorite spots to enjoy a bagel and coffee while I check my email. Some Subway chains and coffee shops also offer free WiFi.
As with all things in Costa Rica, Internet service can sometimes be unreliable. My connection is usually OK except when bad weather knocks down utility lines. If your connection goes down, just remember where you are… and go for a walk.
###
John D. Kloninger is a online marketer living in Costa Rica. Born in California, he grew up in San Jose and then went on to University in Honolulu, HI and Boston, MA. You can contact him at jkloninger@gmail.com.
This post's rating:
(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Loading ...Related Stories
Filed under: Living on February 26th, 2008
John- Thanks for the updated choices. I have another lesser known Costa Rica internet option to add to the list:
If you’re lucky enough to already have a GSM mobile number from ICE and an internet capable phone, you can pay an additional $7/month for unlimited mobile internet (~114 kbps). Like dialup, this service is best for simple things like email. Just plug your phone into your laptop USB port and start up the connectivity software (such as Motorola mobile PhoneTools). Like dialup, you cannot be online and talk at the same time, but you CAN receive calls while online (and get temporarily knocked offline). Be aware that this system relies on unused cell tower bandwidth to operate, so if everyone is talking on their cell phones, the internet will be unavailable until some people hang up. When it works, it’s a good price for unlimited mobile internet…
It will be interesting to see how availability and prices change as CAFTA (TLC) opens up competition to ICE.
ICE has approved plans to build a metropolitan Ethernet network. This network is based on fiber optic technology, and will deliver a speed of 100 Mb to end users. They announced it will be available in the second quarter of 2008. No exact details yet on pricing
read more here (in Spanish):
http://grupoice.com/esp/temas/noticias/prensa_ice/saladeprensa/com_pren/ice_red_metro.html
There is one other option not mentioned - ISDN, which used to be popular in the US is still a major choice for broadband in those areas where DSL hasn’t arrived and cable service doesn’t exist - especially in more remote areas. It offers 128Kb service.
And don’t forget satellite - SKY offers satellite broadband if you have no other choice - for about $100/month
GeckoTech offers high speed 5.8GHz wireless service to any remote area that does not have access to subsidized ICE internet services.
GeckoTech has delivered up to 2Mb symmetrical wireless internet to a number of hotels and developments in Costa Rica that did not have access to ICE services such as xDSL, RDSI, DialUp, or Cable Services (from Amnet of CableTica).
This wireless services uses terrestrial towers to repeat 5.8GHz data signals from any outlying location in Costa Rica back to a fiber connection in SJO.
The service is 4000$ to setup and anywhere from 350$ t0 1000$/month depending on bandwidth requirements.
Ping times to US servers are typically 60ms, so this means that the service is great for VoD, and VOIP services as well as typical internet applications.
Uptime is as good as the ICE network itself, as you are still using ICE to get out onto the internet.
GeckoTech is able to redistribute this internet connection using commercial grade radios that maintain QoS and even allocation of bandwidth amongst subscribers that might want to share a single connection.
geckointernational.com