For many cell-phone users in Costa Rica, there’s good news: your phone just got a passport.
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The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) has announced that international roaming is now available for all of its 900,000 Ericsson cell phone lines.
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This adds to 400,000 users who have cell lines provided to ICE by Alcatel, which already had international roaming.
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To activate the service, users must be current on their bills and show up at any ICE telecommunications office. Along with standard documentation, subscribers must also pony up a minimum $150 deposit.
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According to ICE, the deposit is a guarantee that users won’t run up a large tab while abroad and then not pay itp. If a user’s bill reaches $150, the service will be suspended, ICE added. That limit can be raised by leaving a larger deposit, however.
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Charges per minute and per text message will depend on the local network. Roaming will be available only in countries where ICE has a contract with local networks.
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With this service upgrade, international roaming is now available to all subscribers with GSM lines, one of Costa Rica’s two cellular systems.
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TDMA, the other system, uses an older technology, has 850 MHz frequencies and is in the hands of about 425,000 users. GSM phones, a newer, yet less reliable system, have 1,800 MHz frequencies and are used by 1.26 million users nationwide, according to ICE.