Over the last couple of years, the growth of the Costa Rican domestic IT industry has led more and more firms to use ICT in their business activities, enabling them to move rapidly into e-commerce, e-banking and e-tourism.¹⁶

Software and Hardware
There are many companies in the country offering hardware and software products. Import taxes for these kinds of goods are low due to the ICT policies of the government. Hence, purchasing IT products in the country is easy and prices are relatively low. The majority of small businesses have at least one computer which is used for word processing and spreadsheet purposes and in retail related businesses as cheap point of sales terminals. On the other hand mid-size to large-size businesses tend to have a computer for each employee and servers running  e-mail systems as well as departmental databases. The majority of PCs owned by small and mid-sized businesses are “generic”, i.e., assembled from purchased parts. At the same time, larger businesses tend to buy brand name computers. Computer networks are very common in mid-sized to large size businesses, while they are almost non-existent in small businesses. There are very few mainframes in operation in the country which are owned by government institutions and state universities.

Use of Leased Lines
Lines for interconnecting businesses to different sites can only be leased from the state owned telecom company RACSA. The prices of these lines are relatively high. Hence, only larger businesses can afford them.

Internet
The majority of small businesses do not have permanent connections to Internet; they only have one, or in some cases, a couple of dial-up accounts. Broadband services are available through dedicated connections through Radiografica Costarricense S.A. (RACSA) or – in some very limited areas of the capital city San José – through cable modems.¹⁷ However, businesses tend not to use cable modems. The reason is twofold: one, cable modem services are not available everywhere, and two, the level of security is inadequate. Finally, where high speed Internet is not available, such as some rural areas as well as remote areas of the country, satellite Internet (VSAT) is available.¹⁰

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