The internet in Cuba is characterized by a low number of connections, limited bandwidth, censorship, and high cost. The internet in Cuba stagnated since its introduction in the late 1990s because of lack of funding, tight government restrictions, the U.S. embargo, and high costs. Starting in 2007 this situation began to slowly improve. While the internet is still illegal in private homes, government-owned internet cafes offer Internet access. In 2014, Cuba had an Internet penetration rate of 30 percent. In 2015, the Cuban government opened the first public wi-fi hotspots in 35 public locations. It also reduced prices and increased speeds for internet access at state-run cybercafes. By November 2017, there were public hotspots in approximately 250 public locations nationwide providing access in most major cities.
Video Internet in Cuba
History
In September 1996 (1996-09), Cuba's first connection to the Internet, a 64 kbit/s link to Sprint in the United States, was established. After this initial introduction, the expansion of Internet access in Cuba has stagnated. Despite a lack of consensus on the exact reasons, the following appear to be major factors:
- Lack of funding, owing to the poor state of the Cuban economy after the fall of the Soviet Union and the Cuban government's fear that foreign investment would undermine national sovereignty (in other words, foreign investors putting Cuba up for sale).
- The U.S. embargo, which delayed construction of an undersea cable, and made computers, routers, and other equipment expensive and difficult to obtain.
- According to Boris Moreno Cordoves, Deputy Minister of Informatics and Communications, the Torricelli Act (part of the United States embargo against Cuba) identified the telecommunications sector as a tool for subversion of the 1959 Cuban Revolution, and the necessary technology has been conditioned by counter-revolutionaries. The internet is also seen as essential for Cuba's economic development.
The political situation in both Cuba and the United States is, however, slowly changing. In 2009, President Obama announced that the United States would allow American companies to provide Internet service to Cuba, and U.S. regulations were modified to encourage communication links with Cuba. The Cuban government rejected the offer, however, preferring to work instead with the Venezuelan government. In 2009 a U.S. company, TeleCuba Communications, Inc., was granted a license to install an undersea cable between Key West, Florida and Havana, although political considerations on both sides prevented the venture from moving forward.
Maps Internet in Cuba
Status
Cuba's domestic telecommunications infrastructure is limited in scope and is only appropriate for the early days of the internet. There is virtually no broadband internet access in Cuba. Cuba's mobile network is limited in its coverage, and uses "second generation" technology, suited to voice conversations and text messaging, but not Internet applications. Telecommunications between Cuba and the rest of the world is limited to the Intersputnik system and aging telephone lines connecting with the United States. Total bandwidth between Cuba and the global internet is just 209 Mbit/s upstream and 379 downstream.
About 30 percent of the population (3 million users, 79th in the world) had access to the internet in 2012. Internet connections are through satellite leading the cost of accessing the internet to be high. The average cost of a one-hour cybercafé connection is about $1.50 (U.S.) for the national network and $4.50 (U.S.) for the international network, while the average monthly salary is just $20 (U.S.). Private ownership of a computer or cell phone required a difficult-to-obtain government permit until 2008. Owing to limited bandwidth, authorities give preference to use from locations where Internet access is used on a collective basis, such as in work places, schools, and research centers, where many people have access to the same computers or network.
A new undersea fiber-optic link to Venezuela (ALBA-1) was scheduled for 2011. The fiber-optic cable linking Cuba to Jamaica and Venezuela arrived In February 2011; it was expected to provide download speeds up to 3,000 times faster than previously available. The fiber-optic cable was expected to be in operation by the summer of 2011, but reports in October 2011 stated that it was not yet in place. The government has not commented on the issue, which has led citizens to believe that the project was never completed, owing to corruption in the Cuban government. In May 2012 there were reports that the cable was now operational, but with its use restricted to Cuban and Venezuelan government entities. Internet access by the general public still used the slower and more expensive satellite links until January 2013, when Internet speeds increased.
One network link connects to the global Internet and is used by government officials and tourists, while another connection for use by the general public has restricted content. Most access is to a government-controlled national intranet and an in-country e-mail system. The intranet contains the EcuRed encyclopedia and websites that are supportive of the government. Such a network is similar to the Kwangmyong used by North Korea, a network Myanmar uses and a network Iran has plans to implement.
Starting on 4 June 2013 Cubans can sign up with ETECSA, the state telecom company, for public Internet access under the brand "Nauta" at 118 centers across the country. The Juventud Rebelde, an official newspaper, said new areas of the Internet would gradually become available.
In early 2016, ETEC S.A. began a pilot program for broadband Internet service in Cuban homes, with a view to rolling out broadband Internet services in private residences. And there are approximately 250 WiFi hotspots around the country.
In mid December 2016 Google and the Cuban government signed a deal allowing the internet giant to provide faster access to its data by installing servers on the island that will store much of the company's most popular content. Storing Google data in Cuba eliminates the long distances that signals must travel from the island through Venezuela to the nearest Google server.
As of March 2017 the cost of Internet access is CUC$1.50 per hour (or CUC$0.50 for domestic intranet access), which is still high in a country where state salaries average $20 a month.
Future prospects
Availability and use of the Internet in Cuba is slowly changing. There is a good deal of pent up demand among the well-educated Cuban population. When buying computers was legalized in 2008, the private ownership of computers in Cuba soared (there were 630,000 computers available on the island in 2008, a 23% increase over 2007).
China, Cuba's second largest trading partner and the largest importer of Cuban goods, has pledged to "provide assistance to Cuba to help its social and economic development." Chinese networking equipment and expertise are world class and China has experience building domestic communication infrastructure in developing nations.
As Cuba advances its economy into the 21st century, informatics will play an increasingly important role.
Censorship
References
Further reading
- Tamayo, Juan O. "Cuba's new Internet locales remain conditioned." Miami Herald. June 6, 2013.
- Baron, G. and Hall, G. (2014), Access Online: Internet Governance and Image in Cuba. Bulletin of Latin American Research. doi: 10.1111/blar.12263
External links
- "Internet politics in Cuba", Carlos Uxo, La Trobe University, Telecommunications Journal of Australia, Vol. 60, No. 1 (February 2010)
- Article on the state of the Internet in Cuba, "An Internet Diffusion Framework", by Larry Press, Grey Burkhart, Will Foster, Seymour Goodman, Peter Wolcott, and Jon Woodard, in Communications of the ACM, Vol. 41, No. 10, pp 21-26, October, 1998
- "Cuban bibliography", lists fourteen reports and articles on the Internet in Cuba from 1992 to 1998, by Larry Press, Professor of Information Systems at California State University
- "Internet in Cuba" Thousands of articles about and referring to the Internet in Cuba.
- Public places with Wi-Fi access provided by ETECSA (Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba S.A.) in Spanish.
- Wifi Nauta hotspots in Cuba a comprehensive lists of Nauta hotspots in Cuba (in Spanish).
- La Red Cubana--a blog on Cuban Internet technology, policy and applications (in English).
- OFFLINE a documentary about the lack of internet in Cuba. From Cuba by Yaima Pardo. (Video) (English CC)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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