Ecuador Living

Cotacachi communications are maybe better than you might imagine.

Lets look at a little background to Ecuador communications and then hone in on Cotacachi. When I talk about communication I am referring to phone and internet services. Ecuador has 13 million citizens but only 1.7 million fixed-line telephone lines. The fixed line fees, the delays in installation and remoteness of many communities, and also large number of family in each home - up to 8 or 9 just a generation ago - meant that fixed line installations were not adopted in more homes.

The reason for this has much to do with why cellphones have exploded on the market. Cell phone are seen as both a status symbol and also a cost effective way to communicate. Text messages are sent in place of calls made to keep costs down and many users buy credit on disposable cards rather than take up a monthly contract. When the credit runs out the phone owners may just be available to receive calls and unable to make them.

Still, it is sometimes amazing to see just how many young people are walking around with $2/300 phones. We should not be too surprised though. Ecuadorian life places much importance on family life and contact with friends. So it’s only natural to want to be a cell phone call away from your nearest and dearest.

When people have neither access to a fixed line at home or work or to a cell phone a third alternative is to visit a store with a series of phone cabins. Such is the need for phone calls that I have even seen candy/cigarette street kiosks with a phone hooked up, cable trailing back into a building and calls at 50 cents a minute.

When I first came to Quito and Ecuador in 2001 the first thing I noticed was the proliferation of internet cafes. Papayanet was and is the most famous. They were mostly set up for the young backpackers but were attracting many Ecuadorians too.

Now the Ecuadorians are the biggest users of internet cafes and Quito, Cuenca, Otavalo are well served by hundreds of them. Even little Cotacachi probably has close to 10!

Again we should not be surprised that internet usage has taken off so rapidly in Ecuador. The postal service is not the best outside of big cities and with maybe 2 million Ecuadorians living outside of the country then email is an easy way to keep in touch with loved ones in Spain or the USA or even in other parts of Ecuador.

Also, Ecuadorians, especially the young have gone crazy over personal sites such as MySpace and Facebook, although there are others which have a bigger following in Ecuador.

Use of computers in the home has been slower simply because most families can’t afford a home pc. But this too is changing.

So what of Cotacachi communications? Fixed lines are plenty here and readily available. There may be a week or two delay to get them. Andinatel the incumbent telephone operator thoughout the Andes in Ecuador are a state owned company but fairly efficient.

But if you rent a property here then you may wish to check if there is a phone line already installed, especially if you want to use the new dsl service in the village, provided by Andinatel. Fixed line phone calls are cheap for local calls, 1 cent a minute, become more expensive when calling to cell phones or long distance, and international calls are prohibitively expensive.

Cell phone use is very widespread in Cotacachi as Ecuador and the two main companies, Porta and Movistar are here in town. It still surprises me to sometimes see an indigenous lady in full traditional dress behind the wheel of a pickup with one hand on the wheel the other hand holding a cell phone glued to the ear. Not a common site .. but you see it.

Broadband and dialup access are both available in Cotacachi homes. Internet cafes are here too. Sadly, and maybe a sign of the times the local post office just closed down temporarily for lack of someone willing to run it for so litle business and profit that it brings. Maybe it will open again soon as a social service. A large busy post office is open Monday to Friday and Saturday mornings in nearby Otavalo.

This is the first of a series of articles looking at communications in Ecuador and Cotacachi communications including details on prices. Learn about broadband prices, which operators are not so good. Who covers what areas of the country and how much broadband costs.

Learn also how to get unlimited international calls for $40 per month.

Another important form of communications is the State highway system. Many visitors comment on how good Ecuador’s highways are compared to other Latin American countries.

Another thing .. “Is it this clean everywhere?” asked a delegate at the recent import export course. I’ve gotten used to it .. “Where?’ I responded, “.. along all the highways” she explained, I’ve never been to a Latin country with such clean road-sides”.

Cotacachi lies just 2 hours north of Quito and is just 5 kilometers off the Pan-American highway. Make use of Cotacachi communications! Give us a call or send us an email and tell us you’re coming. We’ll reserve a room for you at Meson de las Flores and look forward to guiding you around this remote but connected, AND VERY CLEAN village.

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