When the world found out that Cuba was going to grant its people access to internet via their smartphones there was much celebration. But for a country which was first connected in 1996, the bigger question is 'will it help?'
In the late 1990s, the world was still referring to the internet as the World Wide Web and phonelines were used to hook up homes to the internet, making it expensive. In September 1996 Cuba found itself connected to the internet for the first time. Fidel Castro was president and with the help of the US company Sprint, a 64 kbit/s link was installed. But that was it. Internet did not grow in Cuba thanks to strong regulation, a long-running US embargo and poor economy. It was in 2008 that the government made it legal to own a personal computer. Even then, there was only one model available and it was priced too high for most Cubans.
But off late, the government has tried to improve the situation. There are more WiFi hotspots and cybercafes. People can access internet at tourist hotels. But home connections and mobile internet are still unheard of. With the recent announcement that internet will be rolled out to all citizens via smartphones, Cuba is getting ready to be part of the fast paced and interconnected global village.
The country, which has a confusing currency system, strongly regulates internet by keeping it expensive. The Wifi hotspots need to be accessed via a card, which is mostly aimed at tourists. “People wait in long queues to buy internet cards that cost 2 CUC (Cuban Convertible Peso) for just half an hour of internet access. The speed is painfully slow and you have to find spots which have Wifi,” said Dr Natarajan Pillai, who has travelled all over Cuba. (1 CUC = $1).
On top of that, sellers only accept CUC and not the CUP (Cuban Peso), which is the currency mostly available with the locals. It is imperative to note that a common man's average salary for a month in Cuba is $30. “They are deliberately keeping the charges high so that the locals cannot access it,” said R. Vishwanathan, an expert in Latin American affairs.
A generation has lost its chance of a better life due to lack of access, observes Dr. Natarajan. He equates them with that generation which lost out on learning English. It is said that after Fidel Castro came to power, he did not let the public learn English so that they do not have any contacts with Americans. So a generation was lost without learning English. It is only recently that youngsters got better access to learning the language.
This generation is facing a similar problem regarding internet. As their peers around the world grow up learning more and more thanks to their access to the web, the youngsters in Cuba are left behind because the government chose to curtail its access.
But things are looking up as the government is now planning to change its policies. The state telecom company ETECSA has started providing data plans for mobile phones. ETECSA has said it will expand mobile internet to all its 5 million mobile phone customers, nearly half of Cuba’s population, by the end of this year.
The Cuban government had published earlier this week a summary of a new constitution that is likely to be approved by the national assembly. The new constitution will recognize a right to own private property. The new legislation would also add a prime minister, who would take on the role as the head of government.
These moves have given the new President Miguel Diaz-Canel the image of a progressive leader. “But it will be more accurate to say that time was ripe for Miguel to implement changes. He happened to be at the right place at the right time” Natarajan says.
But the Cuban government would have opened up more rapidly, if Donald Trump had not been in power. “Obama opened up the relation with Cuba and they had confidence in him. But with Trump, they have become more cautious,” Vishwanathan observed.
But will this make any change in a country which has not seen a new party come to power in the last 40 years? The country which does not like dissidents will face trouble as it opens up more to outside influences and freedom of expression has been a contentious issue for a long time.
Experts feel it will not make any difference as the content will be thoroughly filtered. “Access to internet is not going to give a new platform for the anti-regime revolution. The Cubans are looking at the Chinese model of control to open up the economy and private sector. They will give access to internet but the content will be filtered so that there is no misuse,” said Vishwanathan, who is also a former ambassador to Latin America.
“We need to be able to put the content of the revolution online,” said president Miguel Diaz-Canel in parliament last July. He argued that this will “counter the avalanche of pseudo-cultural, banal and vulgar content” that the population is exposed to. This might be an indication of the government's plans to grant access but to keep it regulated. In fact, they might even use it for propaganda. As a cheap medium for communication, it will be easier for the government to bring out their messages to the public via the internet than the newspapers.
But avid travellers like Natarajan are hopeful of positive changes for Cuba and hope that the country will open up. “The government of Cuba seems to be understanding the importance of opening up to the world. It is time for them to catch up and they cannot delay it anymore. In five years, they might reach a level where they are at par with others,” hopes Natarajan.
Cuba has been slowly inching towards this and the change in presidency in April was seen as a generational transition in Cuba with someone other than a Castro coming to power. “But as long as Raul Castro is around, the new president's ability to do anything drastic would be limited. Raul is still the defender and protector of the revolution, and he is the legacy of the Castros,” Vishwanathan said.
