Cellular Network
Expansion To Better
Service in 33
Communities
The expansion to the GSM
cellular network
installed by the
Ericsson company will
better service in 33
communities, according
to the Instituto
Costarricense de
Electricidad (ICE) and
confirmed by Ericsson
Costa Rica general
manager, Francisco
Sánchez de la Vega.
The expansion program
will benefit the users
in Liberia, Limón,
Nicoya, San Pablo de
Heredia, Cartago and
Alajuela centre, where
serious congestion
problems have created
loss of calls and busy
network signals.
The times between
11:00am and 3:00pm and
6:00pm and 9:00pm are
the worst as cellular
users continually find a
denial of service or
lousy reception.
ICE says that the
stations during those
times are totally
saturated and many calls
are cannot be completed
or received.
The problem, according
to ICE officials, is an
underestimation of the
number of users or calls
being made in rural
areas when Ericsson
installed the 600.000
line network that went
online in December 2005.
The initial calculations
where that 80% of the
users where in the
metropolitan area (San
José) while only 20%
were in rural areas.
However, the reality is
that only 47% of the
cellular traffic is
outside of San José.
The expansion will cost
ICE us$65 million
dollars and is waiting
on approval by the
Contraloría General de
la República
(Comptroller's office)
before the work can
begin.
The expansion will see
an additional 300.000
cellular lines added to
the existing network and
the installation of 33
new base stations,
adding better coverage
in the congested areas.
ICE says that if the
expansion contract is
not approved, there is
fear that the cellular
network will collapse.
The expansion program
also calls for the
installation of 25 more
antennas, mainly due to
problems with acquiring
the lands to erect the
towers.
In total, there are 440
antennas installed by
Ericsson around the
country, while Alcatel
has 280 for its 400.000
GSM cellular lines. |
|
