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No, the 3G lines, although are selling, the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) has had to start promoting to warm consumers to the new lines.

The major reason for this is the high cost of 3G phones, which generally run into the hundreds of dollars for a basic unit with a decent browser to take advantage of the 3G mobile internet.

In fact, one of the least expensive 3G phones is the Nokia 2730 that sells in Costa Rica for ¢90.000 colones. While a similar GSM phone, the Nokia 1208, runs only $30.000 or less.

ICE introduced the 3G service last December with 950.000 lines. Today it has sold only 300.000.

Although there is no difference in the cost of the services, the favourite today in Costa Rica is the GSM and that is due to the cost of the units.

Both the 3G and GSM basic services runs under ¢4.000 monthly. The cost of text messaging and voicemail use is the same. The difference is in the mobile internet.

While GSM only offers basic internet connection with connectivity up to 128 Kbps, the 3G allows connection up to 1 Mbps. But for that one needs a 3G phone and decent browser to surf the interent and to receive and send emails. And they are not cheap.