www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Like many other visitors to CR my cell phone didn't work. Normally I welcome this, however my tica girlfriend was hospitalized and she could not get in contact with me. Panic hit both of us.
Does any one know:
1) How I can get a SIM card from ICE? and how much are they?
2) Which carriers service work in CR? if any?
3) Any way around this?

I do know that Motorola, Ericksen and DeustcheTelecom have all had agreements that have fallen through. Any one know if Vodaphone or others are in negotiations with ICE?

PMs are ok but I think others may have this problem so replies may be better.[/b]

I've heard that Cingular/AT&T now have an
agreement with ICE. Of course you would need to activate the international roaming feature and also have a quad-band GSM phone with the 1800 band. Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken.

_________________
"In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile, and the rest of us are phucked until we can put our acts together; not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely"...Hunter S. Thompson (RIP)

This site contains a lot of information regarding cell phone usage in CR...
www.ice.go.cr. It states that currently Cingular/AT&T is the only US
carrier with a roaming agreement in CR. It states that GSM service is on the 1900 band. It also states that they offer TDMA service on the 800 band, but I'm not sure if that's true. I still think you need a GSM phone with the 1800/1900 band. The site has a list of all compatible phones, broken down by manufacturer/model number. The site even contains a nice map indicating the GSM coverage areas in CR. As expected, all of the major metropolitan areas and tourist destinations are covered. The Cingular/AT&T website indicates that the cost of calls while roaming in CR
is $2.29 per minute (ouch!), so if you intend to make a lot of calls, it would probably be cheaper to rent a cell phone there for $7 or $8 per day.

_________________
"In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile, and the rest of us are phucked until we can put our acts together; not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely"...Hunter S. Thompson (RIP)

Hey Patriot, You mentioned you have a CR girlfriend. If you come down here a lot, you could just buy a phone here. You could get a decent phone for $100-$150 and I only pay about $20 per month for my service. I just haven't known too many people with luck on their States phone.

Some people say att/cingular roaming will work, others say no luck. Right now your only other option would be renting a cell phone since ICE has no lines left. TMDA or GSM. An article in todays la nation said buy the end of the year more gsm lines will be available.

I'll second that. I just heard from a Tico amigo who said he recently purchased a new cell phone, but can't use it because ICE has no lines
available. He said it may take another seven or eight months until more lines become available.

_________________
"In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile, and the rest of us are phucked until we can put our acts together; not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely"...Hunter S. Thompson (RIP)

This topic has been covered, but quickly ATT/Cingular if you have a QUAD band GSM phone and your international roaming is activated IT WILL WORK! I use it all the time though it is 2.29 cents per minute incoming and outgoing.

Tmobile ALSO Works QUAD GSM Band phone 2.99 per minute.

You can get any prepaid cards to work in your phones down there so don't bother.

_________________
Thank you for supporting CRT!

You can not get a SIM card, from this mornings Inside Costa Rica

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

Even if phone lines were available, which they are not, you must be a CR resident or owner of a CR corporation to get cell phone service.

You can rent a cell phone for your stay in CR.

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

Try this ...

Take any old TDMA 800 phone you have to SJO and buy an ICE 199 card

The TDMA 800 phone ( I use a Nokia 6120) will connect to ICE, dial *199 and ypou're on your way... you can make outbound calls to USA for 40 some cents per minute and calls to Costa Rica for next to nothing... outbound only... no inbound.. not bad I decide when I'm able to be contacted...
works good around SJO varies at other locations in country

Not very high tech or sexy... but it works...

PIDD

An ICE 199 card (International or domestic) or an ICE 197 card (domestic) will work from any phone in CR.

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

Strange, I have repeatedly checked the t-mobile site and they still do not report roaming in Costa Rica, nor does the ICE site. http://www.t-mobile.com/international/coverage.asp I just called T-mobile and they say they do support roaming at 0.99 per minute. Can anyone confirm this?

Also, if you have a tri-band phone you do not need to upgrade to a quad-band phone. There are currently 4 frequencies used around the world with more to come. 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900. In the US the frequencies used to be 900 / 1900 when the companies sold dual band phones. Europe and Asia have always used 900 / 1800, you could also get a dual-band there. International travellers would buy the tri-band 900 / 1800 /1900 and be perfectly satisfied. ICE runs on 1800.

Cingular / AT&T recently switched to 850 / 1900. So now they offer the quad-band phones. 850 is also being used in some other countries around the world. One final note on some quad-band phones. Many are dual-band switchable, so normally they run on 850 / 1900 but can be switched to 900 / 1800 manually if needed.

Downandup... Just a clarification, I mentioned quad band phone, but in you simply need 1800 Band, wheter it be tri or quad.

I have a Tmobile phone as well as ATT and I just spoke to Tmobile they told me 2.99 p/m all in to Costa Rica.

_________________
Thank you for supporting CRT!

ICE goes out of its way to make any communication down here as complicated and annoying as possible. They are holding on for dear life until competition is finally opened up down here. Didn't know that they were out of lines again. Not surprised.

Ah CR fun I waited 2 years to get a line, then right after getting the TDMA line, all the GSM lines became available. On my 2nd day in Medellin I walked into bell south and bought a motorola phone, came w/ a prepaid line and $80,000 ( $40 or so ) in free minutes. Walked out talking.