Since February, the Osa Peninsula has finally had regular Internet connectivity thanks to a new 60-foot radio tower installed on Cerro Osa, or Mount Osa, by the state-owned Costa Rican Electric Institute (ICE).

The tower is linked by microwave with Mount Adams (Cerro Adams) in Golfito, and improves communication and connectivity for local residents, tourists, as well as government institutions and scientists alike.

The new uninterrupted 4G Internet service reaches the towns of Carate, Corcovado, Carbonera, Sombrero, Ojo de Agua, Rio Oro, Alto Laguna, and others, as well as Corcovado National Park.

Located 22 kilometers from Puerto Jiménez, the structure is powered by an intelligent system that includes 58 solar panels, with a back-up system fueled by batteries and a diesel plant.

Due to this new connectivity, “Everyone agrees that life has changed,” said Elmer Vindas, a collaborator with the ICE Puerto Jiménez branch.

The radio tower was built over a two-year period on the strategically located Mount Osa, giving it a 360 degree coverage, and its construction, carried out in conjunction with the nonprofit Osa Conservation Association, included careful management of the ecosystem, said ICE in a press statement.

Future plans by the Ministry of Environment and Energy include installing radio frequency systems at the tower for marine communication which would also aid public safety officials in their drug prevention work.

On Mount Osa, the Osa Conservation Association has a series of trap cameras for monitoring and protecting the fauna in the sector classified as “the biologically most intense place on earth,” by National Geographic.

The region’s over 50,000 annual tourists will feel more connected and business owners are lauding the project. “It is better with 4G signal because I can stay here more, and manage my businesses in Perez Zeledon and San Jose without leaving,” said Mario Urpí, owner of Casa Iseami, winner of several awards for sustainable architecture.