Cuba USA
The CUBA search engine is part of an effort to reduce dependence on foreign applications.
A round table panel presentation on "A society on the road to informatization" was held on September 18. The following are a few of the more concrete points that were made.
Wilfredo Gonzalez Vidal, Vice Minister of Communication:
As long as very few Cubans have access to the international Internet, it makes sense to offer their own services on the domestic intranet. But, if Cuba opens to the international Internet, as they say they will, their local services will be redundant and unable to scale and compete. Ecured will never be Wikipedia, Reflejos will never be Blogger and CUBA will never even be Bing, let alone Google Search.
China is large enough that, for political and economic reasons, they can sustain domestic versions of popular Internet services, but Cuba is not. I understand and admire the desire to be self-sufficient, but it really isn't feasible in this case. As the saying goes -- "do what you do best and link to the rest." They should invest in uniquely Cuban services.
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- Interviews Of Etecsa Officials
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- Officials Say Cuba Is Not Afraid Of New Technology -- They Just Lack The Funds
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- Etecsa Officials Provide Some Details And Make Some Promises
Etecsa officials held a press conference in which they made the point that the 118 new Internet access rooms are just the start of improved Internet service. They promised lower prices, more access rooms, WiFi in access rooms, mobile connectivity, etc.,...
Cuba USA
Roundtable discussion: A society on the (long) road to informatization
The CUBA search engine is part of an effort to reduce dependence on foreign applications.
 |
| Wilfredo Gonzalez Vidal, Vice Minister of Communication is speaking. Can readers identify the others? |
A round table panel presentation on "A society on the road to informatization" was held on September 18. The following are a few of the more concrete points that were made.
Wilfredo Gonzalez Vidal, Vice Minister of Communication:
- There are about 746 ATMs nationwide, in 53 of the 168 municipalities.
- Connection speed to institutions of higher education has increased from 10-34 mbps. (Also see this post on university connectivity).
- Counting navigation rooms, Youth Clubs and hotels, there are now 683 public access points in Cuba.
- They will add more WiFi access points this year. She did not say how many, but did say they would be in nicer locations.
- Students are working on the development of 128 software and service projects.
- 13,500 young people have graduated from UCI.
- Cuban search engine CUBA (Contenidos Unificados de Búsqueda Avanzada) was launched in July this year.
- Ecured, which was launched in December 2010, has more than 140,000 items and 200,000 hits daily. (It is also distributed on DVD and flash.
- The Reflejos blog platform now has 6,500 blogs and over 5,000 visits a day.
As long as very few Cubans have access to the international Internet, it makes sense to offer their own services on the domestic intranet. But, if Cuba opens to the international Internet, as they say they will, their local services will be redundant and unable to scale and compete. Ecured will never be Wikipedia, Reflejos will never be Blogger and CUBA will never even be Bing, let alone Google Search.
China is large enough that, for political and economic reasons, they can sustain domestic versions of popular Internet services, but Cuba is not. I understand and admire the desire to be self-sufficient, but it really isn't feasible in this case. As the saying goes -- "do what you do best and link to the rest." They should invest in uniquely Cuban services.
- The Plans Of Google And Internet Access In Cuba
By: Omar Pérez Salomón Source: La Pupila Insomne Google-Cuba: The company that owns the Google label whose main product is the search motor with the same name plans to invest 1 billion dollars reported the Wall Street Journal last June 2. This investment...
- 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...
- Interviews Of Etecsa Officials
Juventud Rebelde published a summary of what seems to have been a three hour online question and answer session between their readers (at least the ones with Internet access :-) and ETECSA officials. They talked about ETECSA's data center, which has...
- Officials Say Cuba Is Not Afraid Of New Technology -- They Just Lack The Funds
Wilfredo Gonzalez and Abel PrietoA 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...
- Etecsa Officials Provide Some Details And Make Some Promises
Etecsa officials held a press conference in which they made the point that the 118 new Internet access rooms are just the start of improved Internet service. They promised lower prices, more access rooms, WiFi in access rooms, mobile connectivity, etc.,...