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« Bush Nominates Alito for Scotus | Main | I think I have just seen Treason defined... » October 31, 2005
Why Costa Rica needs the TLC (CAFTA)
While in Guatemala on business a couple weeks ago, I got off the plane, purchased a GSM chip for my cell phone, then picked up a prepaid card Bam! I had a cellular line in Guatemala! While visiting Guatemala I had access to CDMA wireless internet all over the city. By December, Guatemala will have several wireless internet options available all over the main metropolitan areas. In Costa Rica, it is NORMAL to wait months, even over a year for a phone line. GSM service is spotty and unreliable, (There are MANY places in the Capital City where service is unavailable). And GPRS internet, in "pilot" for nearly two years, rarely works at all. I was one of the first customers for ICE DSL two years ago. This year, my DSL line has been inoperable or partially functional for over four months out of 11. I have had the line completely down for as long as three weeks at a time, and once the bandwidth was cut from 1MB to 128K for three weeks with no explanation. When I finally got someone to talk about it at ICE, (An incredibly impossible task at times), they told me that they could not find my contract and that was what they "thought," I was paying for. When I sent them the contract, my bandwidth was returned, but I received no discount on the $100 a month I pay for the higher speed. Nor have I received a discount or refund for the countless outages. My line at the moment is running at less than dialup speed, and no one seems the least bit interested in fixing the problem. My monthly bill comes every couple of weeks in an ever shortening cycle, and there is NO negotiating with ICE when it comes to paying it. Despite the fact that the majority of Ticos have issues with ICE and their lack of service, many Ticos believe the ICE propaganda against the TLC (CAFTA Trade Agreement), which will bring competition to Costa Rica. It would seem that many buy ICE's claims that the Trade Agreement will mean an end to NUESTRA COMPANIA (Our company), ironic since "our company," would suggest that ICE has the Costa Rican people's interest at heart. If this were the case, I would not have passed the last 11 months paying $100 a month for a service that rarely works more than a week without a major problem, nor would I have to spend days calling number after number to try and get someone to address my case. In Guatemala and other countries in the region where there is competition, customers can vote with their feet, and simply change companies when they are not satisfied with service. This is the heart of ICE's opposition to the TLC, they can already hear the people running to the competition, once it becomes available.
Posted by David A at October 31, 2005 01:35 PM
Filed Under Life in Costa Rica | 480 Words Trackback Pings
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I have noticed this more and more and more now that I live here. Many people I have met, mostly in business, don't want to take responsibility for their actions/business. They are more than happy to take you money for shoddy service if there is any service at all. Recently, I wanted to have my US cell phone unblocked so I could put ICE chip in it for use here. The cell business I went to took my phone and said "Yes, we can do that, no problem.". The next day when I called for my phone, the girl said the phone was nonoperational now and can't be used anymore and it's not their problem. Well, fortunately, she was just ignorant and my phone still worked once I put my chip back in. But the first thing out of her mouth was "We aren't responsiible." If they aren't responsible, then who is ? Another computer store sold me software that didn't work, then tried to lie to my face saying the computer was too old to run the software. I write software, have done so for 20 years, and I knew it was a lie. But it wasn't worth anymore of my time, or to argue about it. You just have to realize you aren't in the U.S. where businesses HAVE to be responsible, or they will go out of business from competition. And I am beginning to believe that is the problem with the TLC, the country is afraid of change, afraid of something new, and don't want to HAVE to be responsible for their actions. I have many other examples where this is the case. Grow up Costa Rica! If CR wants to be a part of an international economy, if they want the tourist dollars, if they want more jobs, a better life, a more care for the environment, start acting like it! it starts at home, with the government, and the people. If you don't care about your company, don't expect anyone else to! Posted by: lhm at October 12, 2006 11:39 AM Post a comment
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