QCOSTARICA – State owned ICE announced a 17.6% increase in prepaid per minute cell phone rates offered under the Kolbi brand.
Prepaid cellular phone customers now will be paying ¢40 colones per minute for voice calls, compared to the previous rate of ¢34 colones per minute.
The new rate that went into effect on May 2, is the same as mobile carrier Movistar (Telefonica), while Claro (America Movil) remains at the ¢34 colones rate.
ICE, like other operators in the market, are governed by tariff ceilings set by Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones (SUTEL). The ¢40 colones per minute is the authorized ceiling, according to Walther Herrera, manager of Markets for the Sutel.
Luis Roberto Hernández, head of marketing at Kolbi, said customers have access to lower prices if they choose a package.
At the close of 2014, there were 7.1 million active cellular lines in the country, 80% of which were prepaid according to the Sutel statistics.
In Costa Rica, only outgoing voice calls are charged.
