Prepaid Cellular Service
One Step Closer to
Reality
Prepaid cellular
telephone in Costa Rica
if getting closer to
reality with the
decision of the
Autoridad Reguladora de
los Servicios Públicos (Aresep)
tol hold public hearings
within the next 30 days
to set rates for the
service.
Fernando Herrero,
Regulador General, made
the announcement
.68yesterday, saying
that the regulating
authority will move
ahead with setting the
rates for prepaid
cellular service, fully
aware that the Instituto
Costarriense de
Electricidad (ICE) will
have the final word on
when the service will be
made available.
The decision for the
public hearing is based
on a request made by ICE
in March of 2006 to set
the rate for the
service, however, the
Aresep denied the
hearing at that time
saying that ICE was not
ready to offer the
service.
"Now we have a different
vision, if ICE is not
ready it should start
preparing, our
responsibility to to set
the rate and not analyze
if ICE is ready or not",
said Herrero.
ICE did not offer any
comment on yesterday's
Aresep decision.
Telecommunications in
Costa Rica is a monopoly
of ICE, which has been
unwilling or unable to
offer prepaid cellular
service possibly due the
lack of cellular lines
to offer the prepaid
service.
Currently there are no
GSM lines that the
prepaid service could be
offered on due to a
higher demand than the
state institution had
anticipated and the
80.000 older technology
- TDMA - lines available
cannot be used for the
prepaid service.
However, with the
purchase and
installation of some 1.5
million new cellular
lines expected by the
end of next year, the
prepaid service could
become a reality.
Prepaid cellular service
allows customers to
purchase a SIM chip with
a predetermined amount.
The customer can
determine the purchase
based on their calling
needs and no deposit or
contract is required.
Once the minutes are
used or the time
expired, the SIM chip is
discarded.
ICE does not charge for
incoming calls,
therefore the prepaid
service can continue to
receive calls only even
after all the calls out
minutes are used.
Though the Aresep will
be making the decision
in the coming 30 days,
it does not mean that
the service will be
available any time soon.
That will all depend on
ICE and the availability
of lines for the
service.
The rates proposed are:
| |
30 days |
45 days |
60 days |
| |
¢2.500 |
¢5.000 |
¢10.000 |
Full Rate
(7am-7pm
weedkays) |
¢40 |
¢37 |
¢34 |
Reduced Rate
(7pm-7pm
weekdays, all
day Saturdays,
Sundays and
holidays) |
¢32 |
¢30 |
¢28 |
|
SMS Messaging |
¢1.70 |
¢1.70 |
¢1.70 |
SOURCE: Aresep.
|
|
