Costa Rica
[from "Communications Landscaping: North and Latin American Transnational Communities"]
By Christian Hidalgo - Fundación Acceso
Summary
In Costa Rica, there is one sole entity in charge of telecommunications, Grupo ICE, a State monopoly in this field. The entity is divided in two: Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), in charge of electricity and telephony and Radiográfica Costarricense S.A. (RACSA) in charge of radio and telegraphy.
The fact that this entity is a monopoly minimizes competition, reduces Internet options, and leaves no room for any telephony options. On the other hand, costs are regulated by Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos (ARESEP) (Public Utility Regulating Authority).
The result of this situation is that, unlike other countries, emigrants do not have the possibility to seek through competition the best service providers for their interests because they must adapt to those that the State makes available to the citizens at large.
However, this country has maintained a public utility globalization policy that has been used to implement connectivity projects in various zones; among them, we mention Internet access from post offices and from municipalities. The entry of modem cable modalities and, recently, the Internet project are advances that enable the use of wide band Internet through telephone lines and satellites.
These changes, plus the fact of attracting foreign capital, training new professionals in this area and the entry of e-government in Costa Rica have all led to a significant boom in telecommunications– especially in the Internet area – and to increased access availability in the different parts of our country.
This framework influences communications among migrant communities. First, it offers low costs for communicating abroad through both fixed and cellular telephony. That is to say, even though there is not a broad variety of options due to the monopoly, the existing ones are quite effective and inexpensive.
In the case of Internet, the situation is different; the monopoly is still an obstacle especially for adopting new technologies because of all the red tape involved slows down the upgrading process.
Telephony is still the main communication medium with the outside world. Other media such as Internet, calls via Internet, e-mail, chats, etc., have grown during the past four years, thanks to the greater access to new technologies and to the knowledge of users; however, these have not replaced the common media.
The main points called from Costa Rica are in Central America - 65% to Nicaragua - and in North America. It is worth highlighting that, from a percentage point of view, the number of outgoing calls to Nicaragua is greater than those to North America; however, the percentages are totally the opposite for incoming calls.
The use of telephony to communicate abroad is greater in rural zones than in urban zones, partly due to the Internet growth in metropolitan areas. Likewise, in rural zones, public telephony is more commonly used than in urban zones, due to accessibility and cost. Therefore, this type of telephony is still commonly used for communication abroad, especially with Nicaragua, using calling cards.
Residential connections to the Internet as well as connections from work and cyber cafés are basically located in the metropolitan area; consequently, the use of this medium in urban areas has grown 18% as compared to 8% in rural zones. However, these percentages are still small if we take into account that 57% of the urban zone and 67% of the rural zone use the telephone as a communications medium to call abroad.
There are other factors that influence the selection of communication media: the use of tools, such as "chat" or e-mail, depends, for example, on differences in generations, because the youngest emigrants have the greatest knowledge of and ability to use new technologies. On the other hand, the use of the telephone is influenced by affective factors: the use of the telephone recalls emotions more than an impersonal medium such as e-mail. Instant messenger services that allow a greater closeness thanks to the use of web cams and voice services are limited by cost and access as well as by the lack of knowledge regarding their use. Calls via Internet are economic and simple to make, but it is hard to find places that render this service and there is a legal ambiguity involved, given the State's monopolistic policy regarding telephony.
Other communication media, such as television, radio and newspaper, are used more to obtain information about current events occurring in countries of origin. The press (newspaper, magazines) is quite accessible through Internet, and this is an option for migrants to keep informed on their country. As to radio, most programs are national and, although some bipolar programming alternatives have been developed with countries such as Nicaragua, there have been minimum efforts made.
Although there are almost no innovating experiences regarding migration and communication nor policies or programs focused on this topic, some processes have indirectly favored migrants. Such is the case of new technology development programs; the Internet Project, for example, increases access to the Internet through a telephone line reducing costs; the e–government project offers migrants the possibility to process documents via Internet; and the facilities that State banks have implemented have simplified money transfers.
It is worth highlighting the "Communication without Frontiers" project aimed at establishing free points of connection to the Internet in all of the municipalities throughout the country and the free mail service project handled by the State known as costarricense.cr. Unfortunately, although both of these projects have proved useful to the citizens and have gained their acceptance, they have been hindered by sustainability and maintenance problems.
Back to Index.
Back to Table of Contents.
By Christian Hidalgo - Fundación Acceso
Summary
In Costa Rica, there is one sole entity in charge of telecommunications, Grupo ICE, a State monopoly in this field. The entity is divided in two: Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), in charge of electricity and telephony and Radiográfica Costarricense S.A. (RACSA) in charge of radio and telegraphy.
The fact that this entity is a monopoly minimizes competition, reduces Internet options, and leaves no room for any telephony options. On the other hand, costs are regulated by Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos (ARESEP) (Public Utility Regulating Authority).
The result of this situation is that, unlike other countries, emigrants do not have the possibility to seek through competition the best service providers for their interests because they must adapt to those that the State makes available to the citizens at large.
However, this country has maintained a public utility globalization policy that has been used to implement connectivity projects in various zones; among them, we mention Internet access from post offices and from municipalities. The entry of modem cable modalities and, recently, the Internet project are advances that enable the use of wide band Internet through telephone lines and satellites.
These changes, plus the fact of attracting foreign capital, training new professionals in this area and the entry of e-government in Costa Rica have all led to a significant boom in telecommunications– especially in the Internet area – and to increased access availability in the different parts of our country.
This framework influences communications among migrant communities. First, it offers low costs for communicating abroad through both fixed and cellular telephony. That is to say, even though there is not a broad variety of options due to the monopoly, the existing ones are quite effective and inexpensive.
In the case of Internet, the situation is different; the monopoly is still an obstacle especially for adopting new technologies because of all the red tape involved slows down the upgrading process.
Telephony is still the main communication medium with the outside world. Other media such as Internet, calls via Internet, e-mail, chats, etc., have grown during the past four years, thanks to the greater access to new technologies and to the knowledge of users; however, these have not replaced the common media.
The main points called from Costa Rica are in Central America - 65% to Nicaragua - and in North America. It is worth highlighting that, from a percentage point of view, the number of outgoing calls to Nicaragua is greater than those to North America; however, the percentages are totally the opposite for incoming calls.
The use of telephony to communicate abroad is greater in rural zones than in urban zones, partly due to the Internet growth in metropolitan areas. Likewise, in rural zones, public telephony is more commonly used than in urban zones, due to accessibility and cost. Therefore, this type of telephony is still commonly used for communication abroad, especially with Nicaragua, using calling cards.
Residential connections to the Internet as well as connections from work and cyber cafés are basically located in the metropolitan area; consequently, the use of this medium in urban areas has grown 18% as compared to 8% in rural zones. However, these percentages are still small if we take into account that 57% of the urban zone and 67% of the rural zone use the telephone as a communications medium to call abroad.
There are other factors that influence the selection of communication media: the use of tools, such as "chat" or e-mail, depends, for example, on differences in generations, because the youngest emigrants have the greatest knowledge of and ability to use new technologies. On the other hand, the use of the telephone is influenced by affective factors: the use of the telephone recalls emotions more than an impersonal medium such as e-mail. Instant messenger services that allow a greater closeness thanks to the use of web cams and voice services are limited by cost and access as well as by the lack of knowledge regarding their use. Calls via Internet are economic and simple to make, but it is hard to find places that render this service and there is a legal ambiguity involved, given the State's monopolistic policy regarding telephony.
Other communication media, such as television, radio and newspaper, are used more to obtain information about current events occurring in countries of origin. The press (newspaper, magazines) is quite accessible through Internet, and this is an option for migrants to keep informed on their country. As to radio, most programs are national and, although some bipolar programming alternatives have been developed with countries such as Nicaragua, there have been minimum efforts made.
Although there are almost no innovating experiences regarding migration and communication nor policies or programs focused on this topic, some processes have indirectly favored migrants. Such is the case of new technology development programs; the Internet Project, for example, increases access to the Internet through a telephone line reducing costs; the e–government project offers migrants the possibility to process documents via Internet; and the facilities that State banks have implemented have simplified money transfers.
It is worth highlighting the "Communication without Frontiers" project aimed at establishing free points of connection to the Internet in all of the municipalities throughout the country and the free mail service project handled by the State known as costarricense.cr. Unfortunately, although both of these projects have proved useful to the citizens and have gained their acceptance, they have been hindered by sustainability and maintenance problems.
Back to Index.
Back to Table of Contents.
Spanish
- Log in to post comments