High-Speed Wireless For Escazú, Santa Ana

THE communities of Escazú andSanta Ana, southwest of San José, will bethe first in Costa Rica to receive a newhigh-speed wireless Internet service calledWiMAX, starting next year.The service, furnished by the state ownedInternet provider RadiográficaCostarricense S.A. (RACSA), will betransmitted from a base-station tower;users will receive it via a special antennaeinstalled at their home or business,RACSA Marketing Director MarioEstrada told The Tico Times. In the homeor business, users can connect their computersto the Internet through a cable orwireless connection.The advantage of WiMAX, Estradaexplained, is that it allows high-speedInternet to be delivered to homes that cannotaccess it using cable or telephone lines.A transmission tower in westernEscazú will transmit a signal to otherRACSA stations throughout the area,which in turn transmit the signal further.The first phase of the project will cost$100,000 and provide 500 accounts.RACSA plans on building six more towersnext year to cover the GreaterMetropolitan Area, which will costapproximately $5 million and provideaccess to at least 20,000 users.