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U.S. blockade makes Internet access
expensive
• Cuba paid more than $4 million in
2005 for connecting via satellite
BY LILLIAM RIERA —
Granma International staff writer —
IN
2005, Cuba paid more than $4 million to be able to
connect to the Internet via satellite, given that
connectivity by undersea fiber optic cable is
prohibited under the 40-year-plus U.S. blockade,
said officials at the Ministry of Information
Science and Communications (MIC).
Connectivity with the Internet via fiber optic cable
is faster, better-quality and between 15% and 25%
cheaper than by satellite, explained engineer
Roberto Santiesteban Hernández, director of the
DATOS Business Unit of ETECSA (Empresa de
Telecomunicaciones de Cuba S.A.),which is part of
the MIC.
Santiesteban highlighted Cuba’s investments to
create a First World quality infrastructure for
these services, and noted that they have been aimed
primarily at the health networks (Infomed); the
western Havana scientific complex; the Ministries of
Education and Higher Education; the Youth Computer
and Electronics Clubs; and some state and government
agencies, prioritizing their rational and collective
use.
In
Cuba, there are approximately 190,000 Internet
users; more than 900,000 email users; 1,351
registered domains (.cu) and 2,500 websites, 135 of
which belong to the media, it was informed.
Francisco Hartmann Soler, strategy director for the
Computerization Office, explained that by the close
of 2005, Cuba had approximately 377,000 computers,
guaranteeing 3.4 computers per 100 inhabitants;
moreover, 36% of them were located in priority
sectors.
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