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Just in case anyone was wondering the internet service available from ICE with the new 3G network works excellant in areas where high speed internet is not available. Yes, this is an additional fee monthly but in our case worth it until the internet service are brought into our area. I also like the ability to log onto the internet via my handset anywhere I travel in CR. I went with an ICE povided phone because I was too paranoid that my cell phone I brought from the US would not work with this system.
I opted for a HUAWEI hanset, it’s a touch screen phone that works amazingly well considering I had no idea who they were. I wanted the Motorola phone that ICE indicated they were going to offer but that was not available afterall in the Tileran office. And I didn’t need nor want the bells and whistles that the two Nokia’s they offered and were more expensive monthly on the same plan I have. F.Y.I., ICE offers 4 phones for their various plans.
I also like the fact ICE offered me a $6 a month trial on the internet service through the 3G network. I was told after my first month ICE will offer 3 levels of service for the same, $12, $18 and $24, the latter no doubt the Cadillac version but still one hell of a lot cheaper than anything I ever had in the US. If anyone has experience with this tier system can you inform as to what each tier offers?.Uh, say a little more, please. Do I understand that ICE is offering 3G service (without the purchase of a phone) for as little as $12US per month? I’m only interested in voice, not Internet access.
Also, if I buy a phone in the U.S., will ICE let me use it here? And, will it work?
I’m painfully ignorant in these matters.
Thanks in advance.
Dave,
Sory for the confusion I may has caused. What I meant was the internet service [b]only[/b] is going to a three tier pricing structure of $12, $18 and $24 after the intial $6 a month trial period ends.
ICE does offer cell service in the 3G network and you can supply your own phone as long as it will work with their system. So as not to give false information I suggest logging onto their webpage where they have a chart indicating their different pricing structure for phone service only going with their handsets or supplying your own.
I had heard the previous network ICE offered had spotty reception. I have had no problems with this new service, even in remote areas. For those who do get the internet option from ICE. It is basically a dial up system but then switches once connected to high speed. Don’t ask me how, all I know is it works and I’m thrilled to have the internet again.
David, sounds like you want what we got 3 weeks ago. We brought our 3G Razors from the US….we went to ICE and got the basic cell phone package….gives you 60 minutes and 30 text mgs and no contract if you have your own phone for 2900 colones per month. They will try to sell you one of their phones…if you buy one of theirs you will be required to enter a 12-18-24 month contract for a lot more money. Hope this helps
Bob
Thank you, bobr, that’s exactly what I was wondering about.
A friend has just activated an unlocked Nokia 5800 bought in the U.S. It is awesome! Does everything but wash windows and scoop the litterbox. And Nokia has recently reduced their price about $80 which should bring the street price down soon.
David:
The Nokia 5800 sounds great! So how did your friend activate his phone? Did he just take it into the ICE(?) office and order monthly service with NO contract?
Will this phone allow access to the internet as described earlier in this thread?
I am so often confused about “all that technical jazz”!
Thanks.
[quote=”opabh”]How about getting a SIM card during a short visit, or do you have to be a resident.[/quote]
You must either be a legal resident or have a corporation in the name of which the phone account would be established in order to get service (and the SIM card) from ICE. If you do it in the name of a corporation, ICE will require that you have a [i]personnaria juridica[/i] from your attorney that says that you are legally empowered to do business in the corporation’s name. A [i]personnarea juridica[/i] is only valid for thirty days after its issuance.
[quote=”sueandchris”] So how did your friend activate his phone? Did he just take it into the ICE(?) office and order monthly service with NO contract?
Will this phone allow access to the internet as described earlier in this thread?[/quote]
The Nokia 5800 NAV combines the features of a 3G cell phone, an MP3 music player, a GPS, and will permit access to the Internet via the 3G system. I’m not sure if it’ll access the Internet via wi-fi hotspots. It comes loaded with maps for the U.S. and Canada which permit turn-by-turn verbal navigation directing.
NavSat offers what are reputed to be excellent GPS-based maps of Costa Rica, including the turn-by-turn feature and lots of points-of-interest, for $150. My techie friend checked and learned that the NavSat maps are compatible with the Nokia 5800NAV’s operating system.
Amazon has the Nokia 5800NAV for $309 shipped with a $50 rebate (presumably a mail-in). Wal-Mart.com has it for $259 if you pick it up at your local Wal-Mart store. Both offers include a windshield mounting system for GPS use.
There’s a $30 less expensive Nokia 5800Music model that does everything the 5800NAV does except that the former does not have the built-in GPS.
In our neighborhood, getting a cell signal from ICE’s GSM system is iffy at best. You have to stand on one foot, hold your mouth just right, and be lucky, too. With the new Nokia 5800NAV, my friend gets a strong signal everywhere in the house.
My friend, a legal resident of Costa Rica, went to the ICE office and signed up on a month-to-month basis. bobr here said the voice/text-only service is c2,900 per month.
[b]IMPORTANT NOTE: If you buy a cell phone in the U.S. to use here, it MUST be an “unlocked” one.[/b]
[quote=”opabh”]Thanks David
That puts me back at $9 Per Day
Willem[/quote]Hmmm . . . Why not buy a compatible 3G phone ([b]unlocked[/b]) in the U.S. and get somebody here to establish service in their own name and then give you the SIM card? If you have a bank account in Costa Rica, you could pay the monthly service fee online, or have your friend pay it for you and reimburse him or her? And since there is no contract, if you decide you’re done with it, stop paying. What are they gonna do?
Thanks David
I do have a unlocked Phone and use it in Holland all the time
very inexpensive there. I might use up the prepaid Min in C/R if it works. ( I might be looping thru Holland and get Dizzy )
I will ask my friends 🙄
Willem
P/S You look good for a 400 Lb Filipino WomenAt 10:37am today (see above), I wrote about the Nokia 5800NAV cell phone that I’m admiring. Since then I’ve seen one in the flesh and I am no longer admiring; I’m buying!
My techie friend (see above) says that I missed one important point: Apparently, Second- and Third-Generation use the same technology but in somewhat different ways. (I’m being intentionally vague because he speaks mostly in words I don’t comprehend, but you get the idea.)
But the important point is that if you have a GSM (aka “Second Generation”) SIM card from ICE in your cell phone now, all you have to do is move that card to your new ([b]unlocked[/b]) Third Generation phone. It’s totally compatible! When my friend moved his SIM to the new Nokia and booted it up, the phone came up in “dual” mode which means that his phone will now communicate with either a Second- or a Third-Generation ICE cell antenna. His area of coverage is vastly expanded!
There is no apparent need to involve ICE in any of this. When I bought a new phone a couple of years ago, I went in and told them and they seemed to think that it was important that they know. No one could explain just why. So why bother?
And moving the SIM card from your old phone to the new one is something even I succeeded at on my very first try. You could too!
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