Cuba may be headed toward more open engagement with the United States, but uncertainty about a cable linking the two countries and hard-fisted site blocks are reminders that little happens as planned ninety miles south of Key West, Florida. Kirk Laughlin reports.
A 40-year-old embargo imposed on Cuba by the US is showing signs of softening, but the implications on telecom policy remain hard to predict even with the prospect of significant economic benefits for Cuban citizens. The Obama administration recently moved to ease travel restrictions to the island nation (note: US citizens are still “barred” from visiting, but the law is routinely broken), and it also began permitting US telecom firms to provide services into the country.
On the heels of the announcement, Florida-based TeleCuba – which has been devising plans to build a 110-mile submarine cable into the country for the last ten years – came out publicly with its intentions to establish connectivity by Q2 2011. There’s just one problem – the Cuba Government has not officially granted its blessing. (Officials from TeleCuba did not respond to repeated requests to comment on this story.)
There are undoubtedly other US providers and investors seeking to cash in on what is seen as a golden opportunity to inject broadband-driven commerce into a country that ranks as among the lowest in Internet penetration in the Western Hemisphere.
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