www.CostaRicaTicas.com

A big shot out to the dozens of you who strolled past the ICE booth in baggage claim in the past two weeks without pausing for 30 seconds to ask about prepaid SIMs.

For those wondering about the program, I copied this from another CR forum:

Yesterday (Thursday) I was in a Costa Rica ICE office and was informed they have
suspended all prepaid SIM card sales along with issuing any new cell phone
numbers until further notice.

Supposedly this current hiccup has something to do with the new Costa Rica cell
phone system they switched over to 2 weeks ago.

The resumption of cell line and pre-paid SIM card availability will be announced
via newspaper and television press releases.

As I suspected, ICE are flat on their asses after cutting over to the new Ericson GSM network. No telling how long it will take them to get all of their existing customers back on line and the other bugs (SMS, etc.) bugs ironed out. For those with active SIMs, I recommend that you try to devise some scheme to keep it paid-up and active for the time being. For those who are hoping to buy a SIM, enquire at the ICE both in baggage claim when you arrive at the airport. It could be restarted at any time between now and a year from now. Who knows?

_________________
Women are like beers. I've never had one that I didn't like. Just some that I like more than others! --Western

I will be there in about 3 weeks, and I will definitely ask in detail about what is happening with prepaids.

Help me understand with what is going on with ICE. Normally when I travel to Costa I can call back to the U.S. without any problems. My cell phone carrier is ATT and I carry a backup with T-mobile. My question is will my cell phone still work calling back to the US.

Isn't is better to just rent a phone down there, that way there is not a record of calls on your bill ?????

Renting a phone for a week costs $70. Buying a prepaid SIM costs ¢2,500 or ¢5,000.

There is no bill nor any records of any calls with a prepaid. Are you confusing it with regular monthly cell service?

Yes I was thinking it would get listed on my monthly bill. Duh... Thats the point of the sim card to basicly have a different account.....

I have a At&t Cell phone and a T-mobile Cell phone, both with international calling. Given the problems with ICE, will I still be able to call back to the US from Costa with either phone? My past two trips both phones worked fine while in CR.

Heck if I know. I'd like to know, too. I'll be down in a couple of weeks, so I'll have a firsthand report then about my ICE prepaid phone and my Tmobile phone.

_________________
mh

I think I will buy one on ebay and just use it when I go to CR. That way I do not have to worry about mine not working when I get home, or if it gets lost or stolen. Also no need to worry about all my contacts saved in the phone should something happen.

Are you planning to buy an unlocked, quad-band GSM phone so you can use it with your US GSM chip in CR? Bear in mind you'll be roaming, thus paying roaming rates whenever you make a local or international call.

I always take my Tmobile BB Curve 8900 down with me, but I turn the cell network off and leave it on Wifi only. This model has the UMA over Wifi feature, which lets me make calls over Wifi at no cost. Like a VoiP phone.

A timely tip from FMC1 turned me onto ICE prepaid SIM cards, which worked flawlessly during my trip last month with an cheapie unlocked Motorola GSM phone I had lying around. However, ICE has suspended this program and it seems I won't be able to recharge the SIM card when I go down in a couple of weeks.

Hence the angst.

mh

_________________
mh

Dalton,

Your phone will work just fine. I just came back (have AT&T) and had no problems making calls there.