The Costa Rican State Electricity Agency (ICE, its Spanish acronym) is working to get the Pacific surf towns of Mal País, Santa Teresa and El Carmen better connected, said the company yesterday.

With a team of 50 technicians, the country’s fiber optics network is being expanded in this region of the Costa Rican Pacific located on the southern end of the Nicoya Peninsula.

The improvements will allow for up to 800 customers to purchase ultra broadband Internet services of up to 100 Mbps, said ICE.

Beginning this week, residents of Mal Pais, Santa Teresa and El Carmen all in the Cóbano district of Puntarenas, and most readily reach by a 45-minute ferry ride across the Gulf of Nicoya from the port of Puntarenas, will have access to the new fiber optic services.

The fiber optic network will bring enhanced television, internet and fixed telephony services to the area as it replaces the current copper network. The change will begin with 100 users in and around Mal Pais, allowing for access to triple play services, and will be extended in stages to the communities of Santa Teresa and El Carmen de Cóbano, said ICE.

“Many of our clients are foreigners and they demand first world services. With this technological solution we will provide that, and contributing to tourism and the local economies,” said Jaime Palermo, ICE telecom manager.

A community meeting is being held today with ICE officials to inform local residents of the new services that will soon be offered. The meeting is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at the Mal Pais water department office behind the cemetery, said the local development association in an announcement on Facebook.

Starting next month, the fiber optics project will begin to be replicated in 10 other areas of the country including Barva de Heredia and Quepos, two other popular destinations for foreign visitors and residents, said ICE.