Costa Rica has the greatest number of telephones per capita of any Latin American country and boasts one of the world's best telephone systems, with direct dialing to more than 60 countries. Calls within the country are a bargain; you can call any place in the country for only a few cents. If your house or apartment doesn't have a phone, don't worry. Public telephones are just about everywhere in Costa Rica and use 5, 10, and 20 silver colón coins. Phones accepting pre-paid phone cards are slowly replacing coin-operated phones.

If you don't have your own phone and want to make a direct international call, go to the Radiográfica (287-0087) telephone office, (open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.) in downtown San José at Calle 1, Ave. 7. Long distance call from may be made from any phone booth by dialing 114. You can also make long distance calls from most hotels. From private phones in homes or offices, the procedure is just like in the U. S. by direct dialing or first talking to the operator (operadora). The access numbers for calling Costa Rica from abroad are 011-506 plus the rest of the number. To call or fax the U.S. from Costa Rica dial 001+area code+number. You may purchase prepaid phone cards for local or international direct-dial calls. Three types of cards may be purchased from Costa Rica Electricity (ICE) offices, Correos de Costa Rica or businesses displaying a gold and blue sign which says "Tarjetas Telefónicas." CHIP cards sold in denominations of 500, 1000 or 2000 colones may be used for local calls. Servicio 197 cards come in denominations of 300, 500 and 1000 colones allow in-country calls. Servicio 199 cards are in $10, $20 or 3000 and 10000 colón denominations and may be used for international calls and have instructions in English. In April of 1994, all phone numbers in Costa Rica were changed from six to seven digits. Most phone numbers now have an additional digit before the first number.

Purchasing a telephone can be a real "pain in the neck" depending on where you live and the number of available lines. You can expect to wait from one to three months for phone installation after paying around $300 for this service.

You can request a number and service from anywhere in Costa Rica by calling 115. Place your request with one of the operators or ask where the nearest ICE office is to order the service. If you need assistance in English, there are several English-speaking operators available to help you.

By the way, the Costa Rican Yellow Pages are found online at www.superpages.co.cr. To get on the waiting list for phone service, you'll need: A telephone number of the nearest building to the place where you want your phone line installed so the phone company can verify if a phone can be installed and how long it will take.

Your passport, identification or cellular phone number may be used to identify you for your account information. Finally, a postal address or directions where phone bills and other information about phone service may be sent.When you have given this information to ICE, they will give you a personal identification number, to be used for paying the installation fee and to make any change in your service.

The next step is to pay the one-time fee to get on the waiting list for phone service. The fee ranges from $80 to $150, depending on the area for which you are requesting service. This payment can be made at any ICE office or the phone company will send a messenger at no cost to pick up the payment.

If you are having problems with the line or need to make changes in your service, call 119. No English-speaking operators work at this extension and a lot of transactions are done by computer, so it might be better to go directly to an ICE office for this kind of assistance. Or you may call the international phone service number at 124, where operators speak English and are often willing to help foreigners having problems with their telephone service.

All of this information is clearly explained in Spanish at the beginning of the local phone book. To have a phone installed, go to one of the following ICE offices: north side of the Sabana Park- 220-7720, Pavas Centro - 296-0303, La Florida, Tibás - 240-6466, San Pedro - 225-0123, San José - 221-0123. Phone bills may be paid at the ICE office in downtown San José or any of their other offices in Costa Rica. You can also pay your phone and electric bills (recibos) at many supermarkets.

Cellular phone service is available in Costa Rica. Cellular phones have become a "status symbol" here. Most middle and all upper-class ticos and many businessmen are using cellular phones. We even saw a street fruit vendor with a cellular phone. The basic cost is around $30 per month.

Phones are more expensive than in the States and there are no super deals where you get a free phone by just signing up for a year's service. Nevertheless, business is booming for the companies that sell cell phones here. Stores selling cell phones are found all over San José and most of the large shopping malls. You can get hooked up by the store that sells you your phone. You can save money by purchasing your phone in the States and then getting connected to the service here. Cell phone rentals are available from M & M Cell Service at Tel: 394-5904/296-5553, Fax: 291-1851, E-mail: cellservcostarica@yahoo.com.

Sending a FAX is very easy in Costa Rica. You can go to Radiográfica (Tel: 287-0513, 287-0511) or Telecomunicaciones Internacionales (Tel: 257-2272). At the Radiográfica office you can send a fax or have one sent to you. You can call their office to see if they have received a fax for you. They will even call when a fax comes in if they have your phone number. Many private businesses offer fax services to individuals. You can usually find their number in the classified section of the Tico Times or Central America Weekly.

Computer buffs will be pleased to know Internet services are available throughout Costa Rica. Costa Rica has Central America's highest Internet connection rate, with 20 of 1,000 citizens regularly going on line. This compares with less than one percent per 1,000 in every other Latin American country except Chile. As of May 2001 Costa Rica had about 55,000 Internet accounts. It is predicted that by 2002 one-quarter of the country's population will be frequent users of the Internet.

To get connected to Internet just go to the Radiográfica offices and open a RACSAPAC account. Recently using the Internet became less expensive and the hours more flexible. Originally customers paid $30 per month for 30 hours "on-line," and $1 for each additional hour thereafter.

Now new rates for home Internet users is $15 per month for unlimited hours. The new $15 rate does not include the basic telephone rate of $.55 per hour online. The extra charge will be added to Internet client's telephone. Commercial Internet accounts cost up to $35 monthly with a $1.00 charge for each additional hour. For further information about these services call 011-(506) 287-0321 or 011-(506) 287-0087; Fax: (506) 223-1609, or e-mail: tarifas@sol.racsa.co.cr.

Internet service cable TV hookup is now available for the first time in Costa Rica. This service is faster than regular dial-up service. Cable Tica (210-1450) and Amnet (210-2929) now offer two-way high-speed cable modem Internat service in some areas of the San José area. The monthly cost ranges between $40 to $80 depending on the speed of the modem you choose.

Although the sound quality is not too good, Internet users can now make long distance telephone calls with their computers. Net calls are dirt-cheap. All you need is a headset and to hook up with a company like www.dialpad.com and you are in business.

Many private Internet companies such as www.ticonet.com Tel: 011-(506) 280-0932, Fax: 011-(506) 280-0329 E-mail: sales@ticonet.com offer private services such as hoasting and web design..

For a small hourly fee you may send and receive mail and surf the web at any of the many local Internet Cafes like Ciber Cafe below the Hotel Costa Rica in downtown San José. The Radiográfica office also has computers you can use to surf the web. They even have printers so you can download and print out information from the web. The central post office in downtown San José offers seven computers with Internet and E-mail connection for about $i.50 per hour. Cost Rica's postal services hopes to have nearly 150 post offices branches online over the next few years.