Costa Rica Communications 2021, CIA World Factbook

total subscriptions: 640,302

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 12.7 (2019 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 8,550,243

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 169.59 (2019 est.)

Telecommunication systems

general assessment:

Costa Rica has broad telecom coverage though geographical distribution of digital service is unequal; recent regulator liberalization spurred expansion in all sectors; broadband market is the most advanced and highest penetration in Central America yet lags behind many South American countries; operators investing in NGN technology; number portability and cheaper broadband costs will increase competition; government aims to subsidize tele-health and e-learning (2021)

(2018)

domestic: 13 per 100 fixed-line, 162 per 100 mobile-cellular; point-to-point and point-to-multi-point microwave, fiber-optic, and coaxial cable link rural areas; Internet service is available (2019)

international: country code - 506; landing points for the ARCOS-1, MAYA-1, and the PAC submarine cables that provide links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)

note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments

Broadcast media

multiple privately owned TV stations and 1 publicly owned TV station; cable network services are widely available; more than 100 privately owned radio stations and a public radio network (2017)

Internet country code

.cr

Internet users

total: 3,694,974

percent of population: 74.09% (July 2018 est.)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 904,734

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 17.95 (2019 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Costa Rica on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Costa Rica 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Costa Rica 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.