Domestic
ICE has invested $44 million for the expansion and upgrading of Costa Rica's national fixed network. With this upgrade ICE will be able to provide broadband Internet access over Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) in the near future. After the expansion, ICE's network will accommodate 1 million subscribers.
Microwave transmission is heavily used in domestic communication and was digitized in 1992. By 2001 there were more than 4000 km of fiber optic cables. A fiber optic ring connects the major switches in the San Jose area.
There are over 15,000 public pay phones scattered throughout Costa Rica and the majority of them are operated using prepaid phone cards. Access to public telephones in remote sites is available. These telephones can be used to make local calls as well as international calls to any country in the world.
International Telecommunication
Regionally, Costa Rica's network is interconnected to the other five Central American countries by the terrestrial telecommunications network coordinated by the Comision Tecnica Regional de Telecomunicaciones (Comtelca). This broadband network links the region's capital cities and the networks of Mexico, Belize and Panama.
The country has two Intelsat satellite earth stations and three submarine fiber optic cables in service:
- Hawaii Americas-1 (HIAM-1) which was put in service in 1999.
- MAYA-1 submarine cable system which was completed in 1999 and put in service in June 2001. ICE acquired a capacity of 155Mbps (which is currently being upgraded to 355 Mbps). Prior to the MAYA-1 cable the country only had the Internet capacity to receive 55Mbps of information and to send 22 Mbps.
- ARCOS-1 cable system which has not been yet fully deployed. ICE acquired a capacity of 155 Mbps expandable to 25 Gbps.
Public Data Communication Services
Radiografica Costarricense (RACSA) provides telex, telegraph, video conferencing, data transmission, Internet access, facsimile, data and value-added services and it also acts as a regional data network for neighboring countries without packet switching networks (El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua).
RACSA offers value added services through its ISDN network which permits users to connect to the Internet, transmit data and have teleconferences with other users of the network.
RACSA has the only national Frame Relay network of the region. The network has a minimum throughput of 64 Kbps and a maximum of 2 Mbps. The network is distributed throughout the most important commercial areas of the metropolitan area. RACSA plans to expand it to the entire country in the near future.
Television and Broadcasting
Costa Rica has only thirteen local station TV stations. However, cable TV is available. Currently the three cable TV providers in the country are: AMNET, Cable Tica and Cable America. These companies offer many of the channels available to US cable subscribers. DirecTV also operates in Costa Rica. The company offers 152 digital TV channels and 33 music channels. The country has 50 AM, 43 FM and 19 short-wave stations.
Development- Services 
