Any Satellite Broadband Internet Users in CR

[keieth]

Hi —I will be applying for rentista status in July and was hoping to get some advice from any current satellite broadband users in CR.

What monthly providers do you use and how reliable is the service?

What size dish is truely needed?

Any info about this subject would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance for your replies,

Keith K

[Andrew]

The legal intricacies of the Costa Rican telecommunications monopoly is not my area of expertize but it’s my understanding that unless you are working with a Costa Rican government approved telecommunications provider for satellite internet, that you would be breaking the law by using another system.

You may wish to take a look at the following article which does have some very useful information:

Costa Rica Internet Access – ADSL at

Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.com

[DavidCMurray]

I’m not a user yet, but I’m going to be. There appear to be three choices. One is a system in which you rent the equipment and pay for the service. It’s $500US per month.

The second is offered by RACSA. It’s $3,000US to install the equipment, which you own, and $200US per month. They use a 1.4meter dish. And you get 750mb of “throughput” per month. After that, it’s $.10US per mb. The reviews I’ve heard are not good, and the excess throughput costs can mount up.

The third uses either a 1.2meter dish or a 2.4. Basic costs are $5,000US and $6,000US respectively. For 64/64 service, the monthly cost is $129US. I have a friend who has this system and swears by it. It’s the way I’ll go.

The latter two of these systems support VoIP. The first may as well. And all three can support wi-fi.

[keieth]

hi david thank for the reply — now is that third option a CR govt deal also — sounds like the person that posted before you is indicating that using any satellite solutions except from CR govt owned communications would not be legal — or this a super uninforcable law — sounds like the country is a bit communist about this topic ! i’ve heard of a small splattering of people with broadband dishes but i’ve also heard bits and pieces about this breaking the law. I totally need one cause I don’t really want to live close to san jose — and I need one to run my internet business.

thanks again for your reply

[keieth]

Hi Scott
I’ve heard a little about it being against the law – however it seems that i’ve heard that people are successfully using it …. not sure if the reason is that its just not enforceable or the govt is just not trying to enforce it …

it is really something my business demands if i plan on truelly working remotely while living in CR. nothing sounds reliable in CR when it comes to internet access and i can’t risk having weeks or months of downtime … dish broadnband seems to be the only solution

[DavidCMurray]

The third option I cited is not government-connected. The background, as I get it is this: ICE has a governmentally-granted monopoly on telephone service. RACSA is the government-approved Internet Service Provider. Since, traditionally, all Internet access was via telephone hook-up, RACSA and ICE have *asserted* that they have a monopoly on Internet access — by all routes. But no one has granted them a monopoly on satellite access; they’ve just claimed it.

There is no entity large enough to challenge RACSA and ICE in court over their assertion of a monopoly on satellite access, so their claim goes unanswered. Is a non-ICE/RACSA service illegal, or is it simply not legally recognized? If the law doesn’t prohibit something, does that mean it’s legal? Only the courts can give a definitive answer and for them to do so, some entity must raise a challenge. So far, no one has.

Sorry it took so long to reply.

[Author]

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