Cuba USA
In mid June, Cuba announced a plan to provide public access at 35 WiFi hotspots. As we noted, 35 WiFi hotspots is a drop in the bucket for a nation with over 11 million people, yet they have received a lot of press coverage.
A Google search found 651 articles with all of the words Cuba, WiFi and 35 in the title since mid June when we reported the story. Google finds over a million hits for stories with those words anywhere in the post and virtually all major news outlets -- from the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal and Fox News covered the WiFi roll-out.
The same thing happened when ETECSA began offering public access to the Internet in "navigation rooms," when they announced a plan to make outdated DSL service available to half of the Cuban homes and when a Cuban artist called Kcho opened a single WiFi access point at his studio.
In a recent Havana Times post, Irina Echarry paints a realistic picture of the "Many Unsolved Problems of Cuba’s Wi-Fi Hot Zones" -- the overcrowding, long lines, discomfort, lack of privacy, cost, danger, etc. I am happy to see Cuba take a few halting steps toward a modern, open Internet, but, as Echarry shows us, the reality does not justify the hype.
-----
Update 9/14/2015
The hype continues as Raúl Casto and Panama's president Juan Carlos Varela visit Kcho's studio. I wonder if President Obama would stop by for a photo op if I were to open my home WiFi router for use by people in my front yard? After all, I have a much faster connection to the Net than Kcho.
- Opening Of The Google+kcho Tech Center -- Much Ado About Not Much (again)
The opening of the Google+Kcho technology center was covered in an article in CubaDebate, which includes 14 photos and two videos. Google has equipped the center with 20 Acer Chromebooks and a number of Nexus 5 phones and Cardboard viewers. Each Chromebook...
- Google Will Provide A Fast, Free Hotspot In Havana
The hotspot when it opened last March A year ago, Cuban artist Kcho opened a free public hotspot with a DSL connection to the Internet. Today, Google announced that they would be providing a 70 mbps link from Kcho's studio to the Internet. As before,...
- A Universiy Of Havana Hot Zone?
A Cuban WiFi zone on and around the University of Havana? Alejandro Ramos Encinosa, from the University of Havana, has written a short description of a campus WiFi project that would bring connectivity to the UH campus and nearby neighborhoods. Ramos...
- The Internet Press Hypes Cuban Wifi Access
Poster with WiFi announcement at the Technology Center (14ymedio) While I was on vacation it was widely reported that ETECSA would be providing megabyte (megabit?) per second WiFi Internet access in Santiago de Cuba for $4.50 per hour. ETECSA subsequently...
- Reporting From Inside Cuba
I just had an interesting exchange with "Muchas Gracias" in the comments of this post. In the exchange, he (she?) tells of a 10 kilometer WiFi link he helped build in Havana using fabricated antennae. He also says some people are sharing 56 kbps Internet...
Cuba USA
In a nation with nearly no Internet access, a little bit gets a lot of hype.
In mid June, Cuba announced a plan to provide public access at 35 WiFi hotspots. As we noted, 35 WiFi hotspots is a drop in the bucket for a nation with over 11 million people, yet they have received a lot of press coverage.
A Google search found 651 articles with all of the words Cuba, WiFi and 35 in the title since mid June when we reported the story. Google finds over a million hits for stories with those words anywhere in the post and virtually all major news outlets -- from the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal and Fox News covered the WiFi roll-out.
The same thing happened when ETECSA began offering public access to the Internet in "navigation rooms," when they announced a plan to make outdated DSL service available to half of the Cuban homes and when a Cuban artist called Kcho opened a single WiFi access point at his studio.
 |
| Cuban artist Kcho received world-wide attention for a single WiFi hotspot. |
In a recent Havana Times post, Irina Echarry paints a realistic picture of the "Many Unsolved Problems of Cuba’s Wi-Fi Hot Zones" -- the overcrowding, long lines, discomfort, lack of privacy, cost, danger, etc. I am happy to see Cuba take a few halting steps toward a modern, open Internet, but, as Echarry shows us, the reality does not justify the hype.
-----
Update 9/14/2015
The hype continues as Raúl Casto and Panama's president Juan Carlos Varela visit Kcho's studio. I wonder if President Obama would stop by for a photo op if I were to open my home WiFi router for use by people in my front yard? After all, I have a much faster connection to the Net than Kcho.
- Opening Of The Google+kcho Tech Center -- Much Ado About Not Much (again)
The opening of the Google+Kcho technology center was covered in an article in CubaDebate, which includes 14 photos and two videos. Google has equipped the center with 20 Acer Chromebooks and a number of Nexus 5 phones and Cardboard viewers. Each Chromebook...
- Google Will Provide A Fast, Free Hotspot In Havana
The hotspot when it opened last March A year ago, Cuban artist Kcho opened a free public hotspot with a DSL connection to the Internet. Today, Google announced that they would be providing a 70 mbps link from Kcho's studio to the Internet. As before,...
- A Universiy Of Havana Hot Zone?
A Cuban WiFi zone on and around the University of Havana? Alejandro Ramos Encinosa, from the University of Havana, has written a short description of a campus WiFi project that would bring connectivity to the UH campus and nearby neighborhoods. Ramos...
- The Internet Press Hypes Cuban Wifi Access
Poster with WiFi announcement at the Technology Center (14ymedio) While I was on vacation it was widely reported that ETECSA would be providing megabyte (megabit?) per second WiFi Internet access in Santiago de Cuba for $4.50 per hour. ETECSA subsequently...
- Reporting From Inside Cuba
I just had an interesting exchange with "Muchas Gracias" in the comments of this post. In the exchange, he (she?) tells of a 10 kilometer WiFi link he helped build in Havana using fabricated antennae. He also says some people are sharing 56 kbps Internet...