| Costa Rica has the most number of telephones in Latin
American country and boasts one of the world's best telephone
systems, with direct dialing to more than 60 countries. The
country has 1.5 million regular telephones, 930,000 cellular
phones and 20,000 public phones. The country code for all
of Costa Rica is 506. To call any number in the country from
North America dial 011 + 506 + the seven-digit number. Calls
within the country are a bargain; you can call any place in
the country for only a few cents; they are all local calls.
If your house or apartment does not have a phone, don't worry.
Public telephones are just about everywhere in Costa Rica
and use 5, 10, and 20 silver colón coins. Phones
accepting pre-paid phone cards are slowly replacing coin-operated
phones.
If you do not have your own phone and want to make a direct
international call, go to the Radiográfica (287-0087)
telephone office, (open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.) in downtown San
José at Calle 1, Avenida 7. Long-distance calls from
may be made from any phone booth by dialing 114. You can also
make long distance calls from most hotels. From private phones
in homes or offices, the procedure is just like in the United
States: by direct dialing or first talking to the operator
(operadora). The access numbers for calling Costa Rica
from North America are 011 + 506 + the number. To call or
fax the U.S. from Costa Rica dial 001+area code+number. You
may purchase prepaid phone cards for local or international
direct-dial calls. Three types of cards may be purchased from
Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) offices, Correos de
Costa Rica or businesses displaying a gold and blue sign that
says Tarjetas Telefónicas. CHIP cards sold in
denominations of 300 to 2,000 colones may be used for
local calls. Servicio 197 cards come in denominations of 300,
500 and 1000 colones and allow domestic calls. Servicio
199 cards are in $10, $20 or 3,000 and 10,000 colón
denominations and may be used for international calls
and have instructions in English.
Purchasing a telephone can be a real pain in the neck depending
on where you live and the number of available lines. You can
expect to wait from one to three months for phone installation
after paying about $50 for this service.
You can request a number and service from anywhere in Costa
Rica by calling 115. Place your request with one of the operators
or ask where the nearest ICE office is to order the service.
If you need assistance in English, several English-speaking
operators available to help you.
To obtain a new phone service call 115 to check for availability.
If there are telephone lines available, give the electric
meter number of the place where you want your new telephone
line installed
You'll also need the telephone number of the nearest building
to the place where you want your phone line installed so the
phone company can verify if a phone can be installed and how
long it will take. Your passport, identification or cellular
phone number may be used to identify you for your account
information. Finally, a postal address or directions where
phone bills and other information about phone service may
be sent. When you have given this information to ICE, they
will give you a personal identification number to be used
for paying the installation fee and to make any change in
your service.
The next step is to pay the one-time fee to get on the waiting
list for phone service. The fee ranges from $80 to $150, depending
on the area for which you are requesting service. This payment
can be made at any ICE office, or the phone company will send
a messenger at no cost to pick up the payment.
If you are having problems with the line or need to make
changes in your service, call 119. No English-speaking operators
work at this extension and a lot of transactions are done
by computer, so it might be better to go directly to an ICE
office for this kind of assistance. Or, you may call the international
phone service number at 124, where operators speak English
and are often willing to help foreigners having problems with
their telephone service. All of this information is clearly
explained in Spanish at the beginning of the local phone book.
To have a phone installed, go to one of the following ICE
offices: north side of the Sabana Park 220-7720; Pavas Centro,
296-0303, La Florida, Tibás, 240-6466; San Pedro, 225-0123;
San José, 221-0123. Phone bills may be paid at the
ICE office in downtown San José or at any other ICE
office in Costa Rica. You can also pay your phone and electric
bills (recibos) at many supermarkets and online through
banks such as, Banco Nacional.
The phone company offers these services with your phone:
call waiting, caller ID, rerouting of calls, wake-up calls,
restriction of international calls and teleconferencing.
To transfer your telephone line or number to a different
location, first you have to find out a telephone number of
an office or house that is next to or close by the place where
you want your telephone line transferred.
After you have this information, call 115 and give them the
telephone number. They will let you know if there are telephone
pairs available, or in some cases they might be in the same
telephone exchange.
If everything turns out well and the transfer can be done,
you need an electric meter number and a photocopy of the owner's
ID document.
If it is under a company name, you will need the personería
jurídica (legal power of attorney) with the corresponding
cédula jurídica (corporate ID number)
and the power of attorney and ID document number of the representative.
The cost of transferring the line is of $37 per line plus
sales tax; this amount will be charged to your telephone bill.
Fill in the forms sent to you by fax; afterwards you can take
this form to the ICE office or send it back by fax, very simple.
When we moved from our old home in Lagunilla de Heredia to
San Francisco de Heredia, we had to transfer two telephone
lines. The people at the phone company said it would not take
too long. With a lot of pushing and shoving, the whole process
took six weeks.
Cellular phone service is available in Costa Rica. Cellular
phones have become a status symbol here. Most middle and all
upper-class ticos and many businessmen are using cellular
phones. We even saw a street fruit vendor with a cellular
phone. The basic monthly fee is about $6, and that includes
60 free minutes of call time. Any additional minutes are 30
colones each from 7am to 7pm and 23 colones each
from 7pm to 7am and holidays. Text messages are 1.5 colones
each. The basic rate for calls and text messages may go up
slightly soon. See
http://www. grupoice.com for additional information.
Phones are more expensive than in the United States, and
there are no super deals where you get a free phone by just
signing up for a year's service. Nevertheless, business is
booming for the companies that sell cell phones here. Stores
selling cell phones are found all over the country and in
most of the large shopping malls. You can often get hooked
up by the store that sells you your phone. You can save money
by purchasing your phone in the United States and then getting
connected to the service here. However, only certain types
of phones from the United States work here.
Cell phone rentals are available in Costa Rica. We recommend
the following companies: Cellular Telephone Rentals 290-7534,
office hours 8:30 a.m.- 5 p.m. CST Monday to Friday, 845-4427,
8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. CST, toll-free from the United States
800-769-7137, hours 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. CST Saturday and Sunday,
or
E-mail: info@ cellulartelephonerentals.com; and Rent a Cell
Phone, 800-967-1111, http://www.costaricarentacellphone.com,
toll free from the United States and Canada 1-877-268-2918,
in Costa Rica 293-5892 or 379-0676, E-mail: sales@cellphonescr.com.
Sending a fax is very easy in Costa Rica. You can go to Radiográfica
(Tel: 287-0513, 287-0511) . At the Radiográfica office
you can send a fax or have one sent to you. You can call their
office to see if they have received a fax for you. They will
even call when a fax comes in if they have your phone number.
Many private businesses offer fax services to individuals.
You can usually find their number in the classified section
of The Tico Times or Costa Rica Today (local
English-language newspapers).
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