Cuba’s really terrible internet, explained

Cuba's really terrible internet, explained
The internet in Cuba is so bad that Cubans had to invent their own.
by Johnny Harris on October 5, 2015

A few years ago, some computer gamers based in Havana strung a small web
of ethernet cables from house to house so they could play video games
together. The network continued to grow quietly, and today it's called
StreetNet: a bootleg internet for Havana with more than 10,000 users. It
was an innovation forged by necessity in a country where only 5 percent
of citizens have access to the uncensored internet. Watch the video to
learn why Cuba's internet is stuck in 1995.

Internet desert

Cuba has some of the worst internet access in the world, with just 5
percent of Cubans able to access the uncensored web.

Since the communist revolution of 1959, the Castro regime has enforced a
strict ban on all forms of information flow that challenge official
policy and history. Enforcing such censorship has been relatively easy
for an island nation that has a monopoly over all media outlets. But
when the internet arrived in the '90s, it complicated matters for the
Castros.

Pioneers

Cuba's first 64KB/s internet connection came to life in 1996, making it
one of the first countries to connect in the Caribbean region. Cuban
technicians were resourceful, educated, and motivated to connect the
country, which led to a surge in initial infrastructure development.

That surge soon stalled as the government realized the ramifications of
allowing such a decentralized and uncontrollable network into the lives
of the Cuban people. "The wild colt of new technologies can and must be
controlled," warned Communications Minister Ramiro Valdés in 2007,
summing up the regime's policy toward technology over the previous decade.

Getting online in Cuba

Connecting to the web in Cuba has historically been a matter of money
and power. Some government insiders have dial-up internet in their
homes. But for the rest of population, getting online has meant paying
around $9 for one hour of internet access in state-run internet cafes.
This in a place where an average salary is just over $20 per month.

Alternative methods include poaching wireless internet from hotels,
which can be done if one person gets his hands on the wifi password and
shares it. Many hotels in Havana now have security guards whose
responsibility consists of shooing away these internet parasites from
the sidewalks and benches surrounding the hotels.

Baby steps

"Cuba is like a pressure cooker. Frustration builds from all the lack of
basic freedoms, and eventually the regime has to let out a little steam
to keep everyone happy," says Jose Luis Martinez of Connect Cuba, an
advocacy group based in Miami.


In July, the regime let out a little steam by installing 35 wifi
hotspots throughout the island. Now, to connect, you can buy an access
card for $2, which will give you one hour of access to the uncensored
internet. These access cards are usually sold out, which has led to an
informal street market where cards go for $3 or $4.

Is this an improvement? Perhaps. But 35 expensive hotspots for 11
million people is certainly not a significant step toward a freer
internet. "Imagine if you told the island of Manhattan that they could
only access the internet with 35 wifi hotspots. There would be riots in
the street," says Martinez. "This is not progress."

The hotspots are located in tourist-dense downtown parks, not in places
where typical Cubans spend their time. Martinez thinks the regime is
creating the facade of progress to quell international criticism. "They
are good at playing the international PR game, but this is still a very,
very small step," he says. "I'm not hopeful."

The Cuban government has made efforts beyond the 35 hotspots. In April,
the international telecoms office of the government announced a plan to
connect all Cubans to the internet by 2020. How they will do this and
what level of censorship the connection will have is not clear, but the
announcement shows that the government recognizes the need for an
expansion of internet access.

Reluctant to accept help

Last December's normalizing of relations between the US and Cuba brought
with it new allowances for US telecoms companies to sell equipment to
the island. Top Google executives have made several visits since the
announcement, offering Google's infrastructure to help expand internet
in Cuba.


But the regime is not likely to consider these offers. "Some want to
give it to us for free, not so Cubans can communicate but to infiltrate
us for ideological work. ... We have to possess the Internet our way,
knowing the imperialists aim to use it to destroy the Revolution," said
Vice President José Ramón Machado Ventura.

With $30 million of US federal money allocated for the "promotion of
democracy in Cuba," the regime remains suspicious of any American-led
initiatives, especially in a sector as politically sensitive as
information technology.

So Cuba has turned to China, a model in how to keep a tight grip on the
internet faucet. The 35 wifi hotspots use Chinese hardware, and two
Chinese telecoms firms, ZTE and Huawei, have proposed a plan to connect
the island by 2020. Cuba is much more likely to entertain a deal with
China, given the two countries' parallel ideologies toward open information.

Momentum is building

As Cubans get a taste for the wonder that is the internet, they want
more. As internal pressure grows, the Castro regime will likely continue
to find creative ways to offer the internet without losing control of
the flow of information. The opening of Cuba to foreign investment and
travel will only speed up the process.

Source: Cuba's really terrible internet, explained - Vox -
http://www.vox.com/2015/10/5/9434407/cuba-internet-explained-castro