Cuba USA
A recent Cuba Sí post quotes Cuban officials saying that money, not fear is responsible for the sad state of the Cuban Internet.
Presidential adviser Abel Prieto told a group of Havana University students that the island is "not afraid of technology." Computer science and communications vice minister Wilfredo Gonzalez assured the students that there were no government policies that restrain development of new technologies. He said economic conditions hinder development and pointed out that the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) ranks Cuba 14th in the world on training people on new technologies and 153rd in access to those technologies.
I will have more to say on those ITU rankings in a future post, but, for now, let me point out that the ITU ranks Cuba last among all nations in Latin America and the Caribbean on information and communication technology development and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) ranks Cuba second only to Chile in Latin America and the Caribbean on their Human Development Index, which is based upon health, education and income.
How is it that a nation that is better off than other Latin American nations is unable to afford better Internet connectivity?
If Cuba were not afraid of information technology, Alan Gross would not be in prison and a modest proposal for satellite connectivity would be implemented and replicated. Don't get me wrong, Cuba has financial need, but a build out using satellite technology would be quite affordable as an interim step toward a modern, fiber-based Internet.
- The Short And Long Term Future Of The Cuban Internet
I gave a talk on the short and long term future of the Cuban Internet at the Conference of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy. For the short run, I talked about things that are announced and underway -- expansion of public access and connecting...
- Is The Internet A Priority For Cuba? The Ball Is In Their Court.
Yesterday, a reporter asked me to comment on two quotes following the release of Alan Gross: 1. President Obama: "Unfortunately, our sanctions on Cuba have denied Cubans access to technology that has empowered individuals around the globe." 2. Senator...
- Granma Says It Is Now A Priority -- Is This True Change?
An article in Granma says the "informatización" of society is a priority for Cuba. They say the 154 public "navigation" rooms were a trial balloon -- it is not clear whether they were referring to the technology or public acceptance -- but evidently...
- A Modest Connectivity Pilot Proposal
Would the Cuban government be willing to test a few low-speed satellite links that were not controlled by ETECSA? I had an interesting exchange with a reader this week. He took exception to my assertion that the sorry state of the Internet in Cuba today...
- Cuban Conference On Health Informatics
The theme of the International Congress on Health Informatics in Havana is "health information and communication technology, a reality today, an opportunity for the future." The program is divided into the following topic areas: computing, society and...
Cuba USA
Officials say Cuba is not afraid of new technology -- they just lack the funds
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| Wilfredo Gonzalez and Abel Prieto |
Presidential adviser Abel Prieto told a group of Havana University students that the island is "not afraid of technology." Computer science and communications vice minister Wilfredo Gonzalez assured the students that there were no government policies that restrain development of new technologies. He said economic conditions hinder development and pointed out that the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) ranks Cuba 14th in the world on training people on new technologies and 153rd in access to those technologies.
I will have more to say on those ITU rankings in a future post, but, for now, let me point out that the ITU ranks Cuba last among all nations in Latin America and the Caribbean on information and communication technology development and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) ranks Cuba second only to Chile in Latin America and the Caribbean on their Human Development Index, which is based upon health, education and income.
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| UNDP human development index |
How is it that a nation that is better off than other Latin American nations is unable to afford better Internet connectivity?
If Cuba were not afraid of information technology, Alan Gross would not be in prison and a modest proposal for satellite connectivity would be implemented and replicated. Don't get me wrong, Cuba has financial need, but a build out using satellite technology would be quite affordable as an interim step toward a modern, fiber-based Internet.
- The Short And Long Term Future Of The Cuban Internet
I gave a talk on the short and long term future of the Cuban Internet at the Conference of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy. For the short run, I talked about things that are announced and underway -- expansion of public access and connecting...
- Is The Internet A Priority For Cuba? The Ball Is In Their Court.
Yesterday, a reporter asked me to comment on two quotes following the release of Alan Gross: 1. President Obama: "Unfortunately, our sanctions on Cuba have denied Cubans access to technology that has empowered individuals around the globe." 2. Senator...
- Granma Says It Is Now A Priority -- Is This True Change?
An article in Granma says the "informatización" of society is a priority for Cuba. They say the 154 public "navigation" rooms were a trial balloon -- it is not clear whether they were referring to the technology or public acceptance -- but evidently...
- A Modest Connectivity Pilot Proposal
Would the Cuban government be willing to test a few low-speed satellite links that were not controlled by ETECSA? I had an interesting exchange with a reader this week. He took exception to my assertion that the sorry state of the Internet in Cuba today...
- Cuban Conference On Health Informatics
The theme of the International Congress on Health Informatics in Havana is "health information and communication technology, a reality today, an opportunity for the future." The program is divided into the following topic areas: computing, society and...