ICE mobile users most prolific in LatAm

Costa Rican mobile users generate an average of 286 minutes airtime a month, making them the most prolific consumers of mobile minutes in Latin America, local daily Al Día reported, citing statistics from the state telecoms monopoly ICE. Worldwide, Costa Rica is the third largest user of mobile minutes, surpassed only by the US with 474 minutes per month per user and Hong Kong with 350. Costa Rica therefore beats some of the countries that have done most to encourage mobile penetration, such as South Korea with 281 minutes, Canada with 265 and Finland with 224. Postpaid rates in Costa Rica are among the cheapest in the Americas at 30 colones (US$0.10) a minute, beaten only by the US at US$0.06 a minute, the Dominican Republic (US$0.07) and Guatemala (US$0.08). However, Costa Rica is much more forgiving in its charges for excess minutes, at 27 colones a minute compared to US$0.10 in the Dominican Republic and US$0.29 in the US.