www.CostaRicaTicas.com

A friend told me he went to ICE a few days ago and they told him they will start selling prepaid cell phones in the next 3-4 months. But....... I'm not holding my breath.

If it's "Tica Time" it'll be more like 3-4 years.

It works totally differently in Costa Rica than in the US.

In the US you have a choice of providers and they all sell phones at greatly reduced prices to get you to use their service.

In CR the only provider of service is the government (ICE). They do not sell phones. You buy the phone from a merchant who only makes a profit on the sale not on providing a service so he does not sell phones for less than market price to get your provider service.

So the answer is yes you can buy a phone without buying the service.

Just as a thought her phone may be old but it may not necessarily "suck" The GSM network in Costa Rica has a myriad of problems so the poor service maybe the network not necessarily the phone.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Ah, I didn't know that, good job.

Oh, her phone does suck. The volume is very low and she has to hold the phone right in front of her mouth and talk directly into the speaker or I can't hear her. Trust me, it's the phone. Plus, the reception is bad, but that may be ICE.

Thanks for the responses.

I assume this is for new service activation. But if you are just upgrading your phone (and keeping the same number) does this still apply?

TIA

I really do not know as my phone is a TDMA. However Zman posted his experience doing that. Not sure if that is the norm or he had some other issue that required a visit to ICE.

Zman wrote

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine