{"id":5130,"date":"2018-12-05T18:38:44","date_gmt":"2018-12-05T18:38:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/cuba-offers-3g-mobile-internet-access-to-citizens\/"},"modified":"2018-12-05T18:38:44","modified_gmt":"2018-12-05T18:38:44","slug":"cuba-offers-3g-mobile-internet-access-to-citizens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/cuba-offers-3g-mobile-internet-access-to-citizens\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuba offers 3G mobile internet access to citizens"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"CubanImage copyright<\/span>
\n Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image caption<\/span>
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\n Cubans will be invited to join the 3G network between Thursday and Saturday
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cuba’s population is to be offered internet access via a 3G mobile network from later this week.<\/p>\n

Telecom provider Etecsa said citizens would be able to start subscribing to the service from Thursday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Until now, locals have mostly relied on wi-fi hotspots and internet cafes and the 3G service has been restricted to state-employed journalists and foreign businesses among others.<\/p>\n

This will change – but many will still be unable to afford the new contracts.<\/p>\n

Etecsa’s packages range from a month’s use of 600MB of data for 7CUC ($7; \u00a35.50) to 4GB for 30CUC.<\/p>\n

Users get a bonus 300MB use of local .cu domain websites.<\/p>\n

But the average state wage for the island’s 11.2 million residents is the equivalent of about $30 per month.<\/p>\n

Looser limits<\/h2>\n

The launch marks a further relaxation of the government’s restrictions on online activity.<\/p>\n

Until five years ago, access was largely limited to tourist hotels and state-operated clubs.<\/p>\n

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Image copyright<\/span>
\n Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>

Image caption<\/span>
\n
\n Many Cubans have relied on wi-fi hotspots to get online
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But in 2013, the authorities began opening internet cafes.<\/p>\n

In 2014, they began allowing mobile phone owners access to the state’s Nauta email service at a charge of 1CUC per megabyte – the price has since fallen to the same charge for 50MB.<\/p>\n

In 2015, the first wi-fi hotspot opened at a cultural centre. Hundreds of other public spaces then followed.<\/p>\n

And then in 2017, Etecsa began offering a limited number of home connections.<\/p>\n

Access to the new 3G service will be rolled out over a three-day period in order to reduce the risk of it being overwhelmed with demand.<\/p>\n

The order in which existing subscribers will be invited to join will be determined by the first two digits of their mobile phone number.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Image copyright<\/span>
\n Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image caption<\/span>
\n
\n Cuba’s president began tweeting in October
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\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, Etecsa has not ruled out the possibility of glitches.<\/p>\n

“Incidents could be experienced in certain areas,” it has warned.<\/p>\n

“If customers experience any problems, they should inform the company.”<\/p>\n

Nearly half of Cuba’s population own a mobile phone although not all are compatible with the radio frequency the service will use.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Analysis: Will Grant, Cuba correspondent<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n

Image copyright<\/span>
\n Reuters<\/span><\/p>\n

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Cubans have long wanted to catch up with the rest of the world when it comes to internet access. <\/p>\n

Since Raul Castro stood down and was replaced as president by Miguel Diaz-Canel, that has looked increasingly likely – at least on their mobile phones. <\/p>\n

The new president has an active Twitter account and several members of the Council of State followed his lead recently. <\/p>\n

Still, based on their experience, most Cubans are distrustful of major announcements and unveilings until they can see real change for themselves. <\/p>\n

The last time a 24-hour pilot for 3G was run, for example, other mobile services such as SMS messaging went down. <\/p>\n

They will want to see that mobile internet works well and is dependable before deciding whether they can afford the packages. <\/p>\n

Still the desire is there, especially among young people who never considered it fair that they lagged so far behind their cousins elsewhere in the world. <\/p>\n

One electrical engineer told me he was exhausted with having to sit in hot public squares to get online. <\/p>\n

“Why did we have to be the offline island?” he said. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Internet censorship<\/h2>\n

To date, Cuba has generally allowed users to interact with most of the internet if they could gain access.<\/p>\n

A report by the US think tank Freedom House last year noted that the US government-backed news site Marti Noticias and local blog 14ymedio were blocked.<\/p>\n

However, it added that foreign news sites – including the BBC and Spain’s El Pais – were available, as were social networks including Facebook and Twitter.<\/p>\n

Citizens can also use video chat services that allow them to keep in touch with family members who have emigrated abroad.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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Source<\/a> by [author_name]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Cubans will be invited to join the 3G network between Thursday and Saturday Cuba’s population is to be offered internet access via a 3G mobile network from later this week. Telecom provider Etecsa said citizens would be able to start subscribing to the service from Thursday. Until now, locals … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}