By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Yes, Virgina, there is a telephone book.

After a year of not having updated white pages, the telecommunications companies are beginning distribution or a new volume by means of the Cruz Roja. The white pages were compiled by the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad under the
coordination

of Radiográfica Costarricense S.A. The institute, known as ICE, has most of the telephone lines in Costa Rica, and the company known as RACSA is a subsidiary with most of its business in Internet services. The white pages are based on phones that were active in June, RACSA said.

RACSA also announced that the 2007 yellow
pages contract was awarded to a Colombian consortium. That wll be in March.

Costa Rica was left without white or yellow pages when a Verizon subsidiary decided to create regional editions. Some members of the public objected and said they wanted a phone book that covered subscribers in the entire country. The dispute was prolonged and no phone book appeared.

White pages here are not very reliable. Many persons have telephones in their homes that were originally contracted to a previous owner. Changing the name on a telephone is much more complex than simply paying the bill each month.