Calling Costa Rica
Magic Jack Plugged into Mini Computer and Telephone
A recently as a decade ago Costa Rica was an expensive place from which to place an international phone, and while the Internet changed that for many people there still was a large group who couldn’t make an inexpensive phone call to the United States from the comfort of their home. This is because broadband Internet is not an option for many suburban and Rural Areas, and there are people who obviously can’t afford a home computer.
Expats and Costa Ricans alike with relatives in the United States could quickly rack up monthly long distance phone bills exceeding several hundred dollars. Some of the scariest phone bills I have seen are mobile lines with long distance charges.
You might ask how I get to see so many phone bills. Most people who live in Costa Rica and have a bank account know that you can “pay” any telephone bill online. The first step of the process identifies the owner of the line, and how much is due if there is a pending bill. There is no need to actually follow through and pay, but it’s a quick way to find out who called you.
Pura Vida Calling Cards
This week ICE, the friendly local monopoly that has been sticking it the nation on International phone calls announced a calling card program aptly named, “Pura Vida Costa Rica”. At first I laughed, thinking that a calling card program was something new, but then I did some digging and found out rates were as low as 4 cents a minute, which is a considerable improvement given that you would pay perhaps ten times that rate for a direct dialed the states.
Personally I enjoy several pretty good broadband Internet connections in my home, and I most often use a “Magic Jack” for calling the United States. I paid $39 for it at Best Buy in the United States, and the key feature is a telephone number in the local exchange where my family lives. So, I can receive and make calls and the person on the other end of the line doesn’t need anything more than a traditional telephone.
I had originally used a Vonage phone because I preferred having a line that didn’t interfere with the computer I was using, and while the Vonage plugged a traditional phone directly into the Internet router the $20 a month price tag was reason enough to hang up on Vonage.
Internet Access and Intl. Phone Calls in Drake Bay
I bought a $400 mini computer (Acer Asipre 2GB RAM with Windows 7) and pluged in the $20 a year Magic Jack. I also bought a 1 TB (that’s 1,000 GB) USD hard drive, and turned the computer into my home/office file and print server. Since the rest of my computers are laptops the mini is a nifty way to get a low power and totally silent computer that is always turned on.
My room mate also uses the mini to watch his sling box back in California, and since I have an ADSL Internet connection dedicated to just the mini it doesn’t cut into my bandwidth. He does have to pause the TV if I get a call.
I promise to discuss the mini, and the slingbox in a future article, so I ask that you please keep comments on topic with phone calling for now.
Another option is Skype, and while it doesn’t have a nifty USB dongle to connect a traditional phone there are accessories that do the same thing and more. The major drawback to Skype had been that until last year it didn’t offer unlimited calling plans.
I recently discovered something about Skype and smart phones that might have some merit for Costa Rica, and I also promise to share that with you as well in a future article. If my hunch is right, then I might also have found the not so obvious reason why ICE is finally willing to offer reasonable long distance rates to the masses.
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Filed Under: Expat Living • Featured • Travel and Entertainment
hello there…is about time that the monopoly o f ice cuba' style is doing some thing in behaft of the locals and expat. i have experience myself a very high colect call from a hotel..16 minutes to my house $265.000…. i live in houston tx. no in the moon…….i believe that ICE has been one of the worst thing that ever happen to costa rica…. but any way i love your information…..thanks for your time….PURA VIDA OF WHAT…DO NOT KNOW….
ICE was a great idea in its inception and made tremendous progress in CR's infrastructure buildout, not only in phones, but electricity, including hydro projects. Now the time has come to bring in competition for the last-mile services. ICE, however, is pretty much entrenched in the economy and the government so it's going to be difficult. They know this, which is why their service attitude is pretty crappy.
Back to the phone topic, we use Skype for most of our calling as most of our friends have computers, so the calls are free, and usually come with video! Calls to the U.S. are only 2c/min. and about a third of ICE's tariff to E. Europe where we have relations.
Look forward to your next installments.
I agree, Skype is like a sub-culture in Costa Rica because so many people down here use it even for calling other people in Costa Rica. It's going to be the subject of my next technology article.
"The major drawback to Skype had been that until last year it didn’t offer unlimited calling plans.
I recently discovered something about Skype and smart phones that might have some merit for Costa Rica, and I also promise to share that with you as well in a future article."
So does Skype "Unlimited Plan" cover calls from Costa Rica to the US now? What did you discover???
I have lived in CR for 4 years and am happy with Vonage – reliable, no static or weird noises, and for me $25 a month for 500 minutes is a bargain. I do want to add some comments about ICE however; I think ICE gets an undeserved bad rap especially from immigrants who move to CR. In my experience most "locals" (Ticos, Nicas, etc.) mostly use the telephone for local calls. Of course a lot of Nicas call Nicaragua but most I know call from internet cafes / cheap calls. My home and cel phone bills from ICE are usually about 4 mil a month each ($7.50). Low basic home and cel phone bills are really important to most of the population here / most locals I know are happy with ICE.
I may be in a minority of immigrants however I like CR's semi-socialistic phone company and am concerned that CAFTA may result in an increase in ICE home and cel rates. I can afford an increase but a lot of people in CR will find it difficult. I have lived and worked in other countries and CR has the lowest domestic phone rates of any country that I know – especially cel phone usage and no contract to enter or have to pay to exit, etc.
I disagree, $300 a year is no bargain. The magic jack costs $20 a year, and is just as reliable as Vonage.
I do however in some situations prefer that my phone call not tie up my computer. So, I decided to buy a mini-computer for $390 and hooked it up to the magic jack.
The mini computer also works as a stereo, TV (slingbox), and file an print server so anyone with a laptop in my house can print and access the photos.
That's a much better use of the money I would be just donating to the good people at Vonage.
You guys shoul look into Intertel in CR. They are the leaders in alternative phone products and especially internet phones from CR.http://intertelworld.com/
I did try to look into this thing, and found myself going around in circles trying to understand how it works without some sort of external hardware or software. All I could see offered for sale were calling cards. A calling card without a phone device doesn't appeal to me at all.
Just in case anyone wants to buy a MagicJack near San Jose; I have a few that I brought down.
If interested at $40 per, send an email to:
healthyjim@yahoo.com
Skype is the best solution for me! For $12 a month I get unlimited calls to the U.S. and Europe, 3 international phone numbers that can be redirected to my land line or cell phone here in CR (they charge you for that call) or can be answered for free if you are logged in. You can install the application in your smart phone and use it with the 3g connection or with any public wifi to make free calls from the state.
I just bought Pura Vida Costa Rica by ICE in the website and honestly I think is a very good product. I tried to call CR with different products:
PYRA VIDA COSTA RICA very good voice quality at 3.7c$ fix + mob without additioanl costs
SKYPE you need a computer and rate is not the best: 6.4c$ fix/8c$ mobile + connection fee
OTHER PHONE CARDS poor voice quality, good rate but a lot of additional costs (connection fee, multiple minute rounding, maintenance fee, …)
ORBITEL good quality without additional cost but … call a mobile in CR cost more than 7c$
I am going to Costa Rica for the month of July. I have a Droid and have Skype Mobile on it. Does anyone know if I should Skype purchase "Online number" or "Skype to go number"? Also, my son will be in Europe the same month and he also has Skype on his Droid. What do I need to do to not waste money?
I expect you plan to access the Internet with your droid via free WiFi networks, presumably the one located in your hotel. If this is the case then you just need the Skype phone application, which may now require a Skype Mobile account. The problem is that Internet quality depends much on your hotel. The 3G network in Costa Rica is not as good as in the United States, and it's probably very expensive to use it with your U.S. based plan. Have you looked into 3g roaming rates in Costa Rica?
You should bring your smartphone and try to use Skype while connected to the WiFi. Since your soon is using skype also it should all be free.
If that doesn't work because the connection at the condo is bad then just buy one of those "Pura Vida" phone cards and a backup for making international calls.
Great, thanks for the feedback.
Magicjack worked from here,Months ago.Now the called person answers and then they hear nothing from me.