Guadalajara -
Cuba announced today that beginning next week, public internet access will be greatly expanded throughout the island nation. But the price may be prohibitive for many.
On Jun. 4, 118 connection centers will open their doors in the country's 16 provinces. The notice was published in Gaceta Cubana, where the Havana government reports legal and administrative news and regulatory changes.
A Castro regime newspaper, Juventud Rebelde (Rebel Youth), said the charge would be 4.50 Cuban pesos per hour of access, the equivalent of one U.S. dollar. The average Cuban is estimated to earn about $20 a month. according to some sources.
Cuba said internet and email services will be offered through Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba. Users will have the option of opening permanent or temporary accounts with the private firm, depending on the estimated frequency of access and their own preferences. No internet service to private residences will be offered.
The government has previously reported that only about 3% of the island's 11 million residents have regular internet access at home or work. But other users log on via black market sales, where they are charged high rates on a per minute basis. Most Cubans have limited internet access at school or in their places of employment, while travelers to the island rely upon hotel networks, the quality and reliability of which can vary widely.
In the last 18 months Cuba has relaxed or abandoned decades old rules regulating the sale and private ownership of automobiles and real estate, and has given carte blanche to most citizens who wish to travel abroad. Today's announcement is viewed as the latest step in a series of economic and social reforms launched by president Raul Castro in 2011. Raul replaced his ailing brother Fidel as president in 2008, and was later elected first secretary of the Cuban communist party. Last February he announced that he will retire from public life in 2018. The two brothers seized control from dictator Fulgencio Batista in January 1959, and have outlasted 11 U.S. presidents.
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