... in response to Opinions,Ideas, Suggestions,Experiences, posted by FenixRises on Dec 11, 2001First, congrats on your forthcomming wedding. Now, about the internet in Colombia:
1. Has anyone done this king of thing.
I haven't done it but looked into it, very feasable.
2. What is the monthly cost of ISP service in (for me specifically) Colombia.
$10 to $30 USD per month, depending on the location and service desired. They have limited time (like 10 or 20 hours a month) and unlimited time options. They also charge different prices for different parts of town. Every city has 6 "service levels" (6 is the "rich folk" part of town) and they charge different prices for the different levels. They do this for electrictic service, phones, water and other utilities. Prices are highest in the rich part of town (Hey, they're rich, the can afford it, so the gov. says) and very cheap (actually below cost on some services, I think) in the poor part of town.
3. Whould this be a practical alternative for the parties involved.(I know that sometimes there is no substitute for hearing someone's voice)
Who says you can't hear the voice? Check out Pal Talk. It is FREE and the quality is excellent (better than some phone calls I've had). It has text, sound and video, all for free, with a little advertising, or you can pay something really cheap, like $10.00 a year to kill the pop ups.
4. In the states very inexpensive computers are available($400-$500) that are adequate for internet access. What might something comparable cost down south.
I understand that computer stuff costs LOT more down there.
5. I am pretty sure that SA phone companies charge per minute connection fees for ISP service, unlike here in the US. Any definite info on this and cuanto cuesta?
Actually, they don't. See comment 2.
I looked into it, for the same reasons you cited (i.e. leave a cheap but serviceable computer with her family) and that's what I found out. I'd recomend it to anybody, leave your brides's family a computer, pay their internet bill (you can pay it a year in advance as a "gift" to them) and when your wife isn't chatting with them, little brother can use it to check out the ladies, opps, I mean do his homework, ha ha. I can't remember right off, but there are 3 or 4 "major" ISP's in Colombia. Go to Yahoo search and put "internet" and "colombia" and tell it must match all words and you will find them.
