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A Day Without Your
Cellular Phone?
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A Day Without Your
Cellular Phone?
Could you be without
your cellular phone for
24 hours? Most Costa
Ricans asked that
question answered with "Ta'loco",
"Dios guarde", "lo
necesito por el trabajo",
"seria un disastre" (You
crazy, God forbid, I
need it for work, it
would be a disaster),
were some of the answers
given to the question
posed by the Spanish
language daily Al Día in
San José.
The idea of not having a
cellular phone
available, even for 24
hours, scares most Costa
Ricans, according to the
informal street poll.
Costa Ricans have
obtained fame around the
world for their use of
the cell phone.
Currently there are
1.629.892 cellular
telephone lines in use -
1.166.506 GSM and
463.389 TDMA.
The average monthly cell
phone bill is ¢10.196
colones (us$20) and each
day the Instituto
Costarricense de
Electricidad (ICE)
handles some 20 million
text messages on its
network, or on average
five text messages for
every person in Costa
Rica.
The newer generation of
cellular phones are more
than just a phone and is
not only used to make
calls and send text
messages, but is also
used by many as an alarm
clock, take photographs,
watch videos, surf the
internet and play music.
To see the cellular
phone in action simply
take a walk along any of
downtown San José's
pedestrian walkways or
malls and it will be
very hard not to spot
someone talking on a
cellular phone or have
the earphones plugged in
to their cellular phone
listening to music, or
someone keying in a text
message or two.
It is difficult to
believe, but the
cellular phone has
created a new addiction
and a new set of
addicts.
The addiction is so
great that a feeling of
anxiety takes over when
they are without a
cellular phone or, as is
often the case in Costa
Rica, a call cannot be
made or completed
because the network is
oversaturated, with you
guessed it, more
cellular phone users.
The situation has also
created more problems
for the Policía de
Tránsito (traffic
police) as more and more
drivers talk on their
cellular phones and
drive at the same time.
The practice is
prohibited in Costa Rica
and according to Germán
Marín, Director de
Tránsito, "drivers have
yet to learn that they
are distracted while
talking on the phone
while driving".
Many also say that the
cellular phone is a tool
for work, keeping in
touch with clients,
co-workers, bosses,
employees, etc.
Lets take a look at the
numbers provided by ICE:
- 37% of Costa Ricans
have an active cellular
telephone line
- 61% of Costa Ricans
are estimated by ICE
will have a cellular
phone by 2010
- 78.000 cellular phone
users access the
internet on their
cellular phone
- 789 are the number of
people who have their
cellular phone insured
by a the Instituto
Nacional de Seguros
(INS) - state insurance
agency that provides a
special policy for
cellular phones
- 14.000.000 text
messages are sent over
the GSM and 6.000.000
over the TDMA networks
daily
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The newer generation of
cellular phones, like
the iPhone pictured
above, are not only a
cellular phone, but
includes a full web
browers, iPod for music
and videos, games,
business tools and a
full media entertainment
centre. |
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