Cuba USA
Cuban authorities have announced that mobile Internet services will be available on the island soon at a maximum rate of 1 Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC) per megabyte of data transferred. (1 CUC = 1.14 USD).
As far as I know, they have said nothing about the technology (3G or 4G?) or the locations in which it will be available.
But, they did announce the cost, and in case you imagined Cubans streaming Netflix movies or Pandora songs to their mobile phones. let's look at the cost of doing so at the published rate:
These are Apple's conservative file size estimates.
(Lest you consider the Cuban costs outrageous, consider that, if Apple had charged the same rate for song downloads as your friendly US phone company was charging for text message bits a few years ago, a song would have cost you $5,486).
Mobile Internet access at these prices are well beyond the means of ordinary Cubans even if they only do a little Web browsing and email. In the past, the Cuban government has justified high Internet prices by saying they were needed to ration scarce international satellite bandwidth, but, now that the ALBA 1 undersea cable is operating, what is the justification for these prices?
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- Cuban Home Connectivity Prices Leaked (with A Tidbit At The End Of The Post)
Diario de Cuba reported that Etecsa will begin selling home Internet connectivity in September. Prime time prices will be: The night time price (8PM - 7AM) will be 20 CUC for 90 hours, with a charge of 20 convertible centavos per hour after the limit...
- Ict Statistics For 2010 -- More Internet Users But Fewer Internet Computers And Domain Names
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Cuba USA
Cuban mobile Internet prices
Cuban authorities have announced that mobile Internet services will be available on the island soon at a maximum rate of 1 Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC) per megabyte of data transferred. (1 CUC = 1.14 USD).
As far as I know, they have said nothing about the technology (3G or 4G?) or the locations in which it will be available.
But, they did announce the cost, and in case you imagined Cubans streaming Netflix movies or Pandora songs to their mobile phones. let's look at the cost of doing so at the published rate:
(Lest you consider the Cuban costs outrageous, consider that, if Apple had charged the same rate for song downloads as your friendly US phone company was charging for text message bits a few years ago, a song would have cost you $5,486).
Mobile Internet access at these prices are well beyond the means of ordinary Cubans even if they only do a little Web browsing and email. In the past, the Cuban government has justified high Internet prices by saying they were needed to ration scarce international satellite bandwidth, but, now that the ALBA 1 undersea cable is operating, what is the justification for these prices?
- Mobile Access Phone Booths In Rural Areas
Omar Tejedor, Central Director of Public Telephony at ETECSA, announced a pilot test using public pay phones for mobile access. They will upgrade public phones, enabling them to access the mobile GSM network. the public phones will link to underutilized...
- Verizon Roaming In Cuba -- Much Ado About Not Much
While Verizon customers may be able to make $2.99 per minute 2G calls, it seems their $2.05 per megabyte data service will be limited to few locations. President Obama is continuing to use executive powers to nibble away at the embargo. Some US companies...
- Netflix Comes To Cuba -- Only Fidel And Raúl Can Afford It For Now *
What about YouTube? Netflix has joined Google as one of the first US companies to offer an Internet service in Cuba, but few Cubans can afford the $7.99 monthly Netflix subscription and home access is nearly all over dial up connections. DSL bandwidth...
- Cuban Home Connectivity Prices Leaked (with A Tidbit At The End Of The Post)
Diario de Cuba reported that Etecsa will begin selling home Internet connectivity in September. Prime time prices will be: The night time price (8PM - 7AM) will be 20 CUC for 90 hours, with a charge of 20 convertible centavos per hour after the limit...
- Ict Statistics For 2010 -- More Internet Users But Fewer Internet Computers And Domain Names
The Cuban National Statistics Office has issued their 2011 Annual Statistical Report, which includes data on information and communication technology. The table shown here (click it to enlarge) presents physical ICT indicators. As you see, there are now...