17.000 GSM Lines Go On Sale
Did you get your? was the most asked question around town yesterday, as the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) put on sale the 17.000 GSM lines on sale yesterday and customers lining up for up to 10 hours to get connected.

ICE decided to offer the lines that have been abandoned or have been confiscated for lack of payment by it's customers and may be the last lines that may be the last lines for a long time, maybe up to two years, as ICE re-starts the bid for the expansion of it's current GSM network.

This summer, the Contraloria General de la Republica (Comptroller's office) resufed the contract signed late last year between ICE and the Ericsson company following allegation of payoffs and problems with the contract, that would have seen the GSM network expanded with 600.000 GSM lines in addition to the current 400.000 lines installed by the French telecommunications firm Alcatel, which has been the at the centre of the ICE-Alcatel scandal.

Customers lined up for hours hours at all the ICE agencies knowing to get their cellular telephone connected to the GSM network, some with new service, while others preferring to switch from the older TDMA technology.

A spokesperson for ICE says that by the end of last night more than 1/2 of the 17.000 lines were gone, with the expectation that by the end of today or Wednesday they would be completely sold out.

In July of this year, ICE had put 15.000 GSM lines on sale and were sold out in five days. They followed with an announcement of an additional 10.000 lines, which sold out within the following week. This time, ICE officials knew things would be different, and were prepared with additional staff and extending operational hours until 7:30pm.

The lines were long, some like at the Tibás offices extended up to 800 metres. At the Pavas office, the line outside was shorter, however, the agency has the largest office indoors, which was filled to capacity. Customers who had lined up were allowed in up to 5:00pm, being told to come back today.

Those inside were served and according to one insider, they worked up to 8:30pm, until all customers were gone.

The situation was not different at ICE authorized dealers, as customers who chose to purchase new equipment were able to get connected - or at least have their application made - by an ICE agent, who have the capacity to install new service, connected to the ICE mainframe.

"No" To Drinking and Driving For the Holidays
Curbing drinking and driving will be the main focus for the Policía de Tránsito (Transit Police) this holiday season. Transit officials will be out in full force and with a firm hand against those who insist on drinking and driving, as well as not use their seatbelts or who are intent on speeding.

Transit authorities are gearing up and beginning tomorrow, December 1, they will start operating spot checks during the evening and early morning hours, as all speed controls along the highways during the day.

In total, 52 major night spot checks are in the plan and 370 speed controls with a total of 779 Transit officials on hand.

Though Transit authorities are not giving details of their operations, they will no doubt be similar to those of the least several years, where, like in the areas of Escazú, the entire highway is closed off to traffic controls, where every vehicle will be stopped and the driver questioned on his or her drinking.

Transit officials have the power to confiscate licenses and vehicles of those drivers who are too drunk to be behind the wheel, as well as of those vehicles who don't have the proper registration papers in order, like the Riteve vehicular inspection or the 2004 marchamo.
 

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US Airways Puts the World on Sale US Airways is putting the world on sale for four days only, with fares to Caribbean and Latin America destinations starting at $158* roundtrip and European travel beginning at $193* roundtrip. Under this sale, tickets must be purchased by Dec. 3, 2004, with travel completed by Feb. 16, 2005. Caribbean, Latin America and European travel must be purchased three days in advance of travel, and U.S. and Canada travel requires a seven-day advance purchase. Sample Markets Roundtrip Fare: Albany, N.Y.-San Jose, Costa Rica(4) $341 and New York LaGuardia-London Gatwick $193. US Airways is the U.S.'s seventh-largest airline, serving nearly 200 communities in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. US Airways, US Airways Shuttle and the US Airways Express partner carriers operate approximately 3,300 flights per day.