Cell phones Cuba one is All You Get

Cell phones/Cuba: One is All You Get

April 26, 2013

Osmel Almaguer



HAVANA TIMES — My friend Leslie was recently informed by ETECSA (Cuba's

State phone company) that he cannot open a new mobile phone account. He

was told that you are entitled to only one line and that one has already

been activated under his name. Incidentally, my friend sold that cell

line to a stranger a long time ago.



He told me he thinks this norm is senseless, and I cannot but nod my

head in agreement. He said he'd be interested in knowing whether the

same restriction applies to businesspeople and legal entities based in

or visiting our country.



That would be very counterproductive, I reply. "Besides, shouldn't this

company be interested in selling more of its products?" My friend

responds with a phrase that has become commonplace in conversations

among Cubans: "If you want to retain your sanity in this country, it's

best to put all commonsense aside."



ETECSA was a joint venture company until February 4, 2011, when it came

under full control of the Cuban State.



Today, it is Cuba's telephone communications monopoly. As in many other

commercial sectors in the country, it is a "giant" that knows no

competition.



I don't know whether this rather harsh policy dates back to the days

when ETECSA was a joint venture company (something which would surprise

me). In any event, it speaks of an anti-commercial mindset that is in

keeping with the mentality that has prevailed in Cuban society for many

years.



I therefore ask myself: how can we ever aspire to achieve any

development in the country when local companies refuse to develop? Cuba

is probably the only country in the world where people have to pay a

monthly fee so as not to lose their cell phone lines. And, when it comes

to mobile phone, that's not the weirdest thing you'll come across in Cuba.



There's a cell phone currently being sold at ETECSA outlets for 23 Cuban

Convertible Pesos (25 USD). The model must have come out ten years ago

or before then, it looks very old. The funny thing is that, one or two

years ago, it cost around 70 CUCs.



Needless to say, the price of the phone and mobile plan (let alone

regular usage fees) far exceeds what the average Cuban can afford to pay

(it is more than five months' earnings)…but this doesn't stop ETECSA

from placing restrictions on what we can purchase.



My friend added: "This is how I feel when I go get the daily ration of

bread. There, they also say 'one is all you get'."



I felt bad for my friend and lent him my ID, so he can use my name to

open the new account. And why not? My own phone line was activated using

my sister's name.



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