Cuba Plans Internet in Homes by Late 2014

Cuba Plans Internet in Homes by Late 2014



HAVANA – Cuba's state-run telecom company ETECSA plans to begin offering

in-home Internet connections by late 2014, a director of the company said.



"We're thinking of reaching homes with ADSL technology. We're trying to

drop telephone access, since besides its poor quality, the telephone

network is not designed for this kind of access," Jorge Legra, ETECSA

director of strategic programs, said.



"We could be talking about the last quarter of 2014," Legra said, adding

that the service will first be available in areas of the country that

have the right technical facilities to make the connection.



In Cuba, with its 15 percent Internet access, the vast majority of

inhabitants cannot go online at home, a privilege reserved for

professionals like doctors, journalists, academics, intellectuals and

artists.



The island government grants "social" Internet use at certain public

establishments, and has traditionally blamed access problems on the U.S.

embargo, a policy that forces Cuba to access the Web through a satellite

connection that makes it all very slow and expensive.



However, since an undersea fiber-optic cable linking the communist-ruled

island with Venezuela and Jamaica was activated in 2011, Cuba's

government has proceeded to increase the number of public places with

online access and to expand services.



On June 14, 118 new Internet establishments were opened in the country

where, through the national portal Nauta, permanent or temporary

accounts were made available for e-mail access, online navigating and

other services.



The cost of these services is, however, extremely high for a Cuban's

budget. In a country where the average monthly wage is less than $20, an

hour online at an Internet establishment costs 4.5 convertible pesos

(CUC, the stronger currency of the two circulating in Cuba and the

equivalent of $1.00).



The ETECSA director of strategic programs acknowledged that the chief

concern of users is the high price of these services, and said the

intention is to gradually make the rate more affordable.



Source: "Latin American Herald Tribune - Cuba Plans Internet in Homes by

Late 2014" -

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=816370&CategoryId=14510