Cuban government increases WiFi coverage

Cuba

Cuban government increases WiFi coverage

Until recently, access to the internet in Cuba has been limited. The Cuban government is changing that by making WiFi hotspots increasingly accessible.

CCTV America’s Franc Contreras reports from Havana.
Follow Franc Contreras on Twitter @FrancMex

Last year, the Cuban government began setting up WiFi hotspots around the country. Before that, access to the internet on this island nation was primarily limited to government officials and tourists.

Even with this change, Cuba still has one of the lowest numbers of internet users in the world. There are few smartphones. Most computers here are old and much of the software is pirated.

The Cuban government’s telecommunications company, Etecsa, is the only internet service provider here.  It sets up antennas in public places.

The presence of the internet in Cuba has sparked sales of black market access cards.

This anonymous vendor buys the cards for a little over $2 a piece and sells them for a little more than $3, putting his earnings way over the top of minimum wage.

Virtually everyone we spoke with for this story is using some kind of social media to talk about the death of Fidel Castro. But most people did not want to say exactly how they are doing that.

What is clear is that online access in this Communist nation appears to be growing.


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