Subscriptions to mobile internet service demand in Costa Rica has increased 26% in the last year, going from 101 to 127 per 100 inhabitants, forcing telcos to change their offers.
Kölbi (ICE), for example, has added the new package “en todas” (in all) and a special line for postpaid and prepaid customers. Among the options available to ‘mobile internet addicts’ is quick access and at an increased speed to favorite applications such as WhatsApp, Instagrams, Snapchat, Twitter, and Pinterest.
For die-hard prepaid mobile internet users, Kölbi offers a “superchip” that depending on the amount of the recharge, offers higher speeds and free use (without consuming the recharge balance) to WhatsApp for several days. For postpaid customers, the “Ultra” packages offer up higher speeds than the standard chip.
Kolbi also offers tourists the “Superchip Turista” for calls, messaging in and out of Costa Rica, as well as browsing without any restrictions. The Turista chip comes in two packages, US$40 and US$60, for unrestricted use for 2 and 4 days respectively. But, despite the package says unrestricted, there is a limit of US$4 and US$6 for international calls.
At Claro (America Movil), the “without limits” package promises fast downloads from 4GB to 20GB and the “Turbo Button”, for both prepaid and postpaid customers, who need even more speed from their mobile internet.
Over at Movistar (Telefonica), the packages include the option of more download without additional cost. Options include downloads of 3GB to 25GB.
Karla Espinoza, communications manager at Movistar, said, “the consumption of data depends on the type of applications and the use that is given to them, but in response to the growing demand we have increased the capacity of the Internet in all postpaid plans.”
The applications that consume more data of mobile Internet in Costa Rica, includes:
- Netflix
- Spotify
- Youtube
