Internet use is severely restricted in Cuba. A
combination of Cuban government policy, the
U.S. trade embargo, and personal economic
limitations prevents the vast majority of Cuban
citizens from ever accessing the Internet. The
few who gain access are limited by extensive
monitoring and excessive penalties for political
dissent expressed on the Internet, leading to a
climate of self-censorship. Access probably is
restricted even further by the U.S. government’s sponsorship of reverse filtering, which
encourages Web sites to prevent access from
Cuba and other countries.
Internet in Cuba
In October 1996 Cuba first connected full time to
the Internet, and in 1998 Cuba had only a single
64-Kbps satellite connection run by Sprint in
Florida and allowed by an exception for communications to the U.S. trade embargo. 1 More
recent legislation forbids U.S. investment in
Cuban telecommunications and hampers acquisition of Cuban IP addresses; these policies, as
well as Cuba’s own economic policies, have hindered connectivity. 2 Currently Cuba still uses its
satellite connection with a 65 Mb/s upload bandwidth and a 124 Mb/s download bandwidth for
the entire country. 3
In 1998, out of a population of eleven million, approximately 200 government-approved
scientists, medical researchers, and government
officials had Internet access from their desktops
and 5,000 had e-mail addresses, used on Cuban
intranets that remained entirely within the country. 4 By 2000 there were 6,000 computers linked
to the Internet and approximately 80,000 Cubans
possessed e-mail accounts, but only half of
those accounts had full Internet access—
accounts were selectively granted by the
government, and development focused on government and tourism efforts. The country had
only a single Internet café and banned personal
computing purchases. 5 Currently Cuba has
approximately 480,000 email accounts
6
and
190,000 regular Internet users (less than 2 percent of the population). 7 The cost of public
Internet access (approximately USD4.50 per
hour, or half the average monthly wage) and the
very slow connections prohibit most Cubans
from using the international Internet connections;
most Cubans choose the national intranet
instead (approximately USD1.50 per hour). 8 In
2005 Cuban computer ownership was 3.3 per
100 inhabitants. 9 An unknown number of Cubans
illegally access the Internet through black market
purchases of access or illegally shared authorized connections. 10
Although the Cuban people primarily use
connections to send e-mail, the Cuban government hopes to use the Internet to spread its political messages, promote tourism, and improve
the efficiency of medical services. 11
Cuba
ONI did not carry out empirical testing for Internet filtering in Cuba for this report.
combination of Cuban government policy, the
U.S. trade embargo, and personal economic
limitations prevents the vast majority of Cuban
citizens from ever accessing the Internet. The
few who gain access are limited by extensive
monitoring and excessive penalties for political
dissent expressed on the Internet, leading to a
climate of self-censorship. Access probably is
restricted even further by the U.S. government’s sponsorship of reverse filtering, which
encourages Web sites to prevent access from
Cuba and other countries.
Internet in Cuba
In October 1996 Cuba first connected full time to
the Internet, and in 1998 Cuba had only a single
64-Kbps satellite connection run by Sprint in
Florida and allowed by an exception for communications to the U.S. trade embargo. 1 More
recent legislation forbids U.S. investment in
Cuban telecommunications and hampers acquisition of Cuban IP addresses; these policies, as
well as Cuba’s own economic policies, have hindered connectivity. 2 Currently Cuba still uses its
satellite connection with a 65 Mb/s upload bandwidth and a 124 Mb/s download bandwidth for
the entire country. 3
In 1998, out of a population of eleven million, approximately 200 government-approved
scientists, medical researchers, and government
officials had Internet access from their desktops
and 5,000 had e-mail addresses, used on Cuban
intranets that remained entirely within the country. 4 By 2000 there were 6,000 computers linked
to the Internet and approximately 80,000 Cubans
possessed e-mail accounts, but only half of
those accounts had full Internet access—
accounts were selectively granted by the
government, and development focused on government and tourism efforts. The country had
only a single Internet café and banned personal
computing purchases. 5 Currently Cuba has
approximately 480,000 email accounts
6
and
190,000 regular Internet users (less than 2 percent of the population). 7 The cost of public
Internet access (approximately USD4.50 per
hour, or half the average monthly wage) and the
very slow connections prohibit most Cubans
from using the international Internet connections;
most Cubans choose the national intranet
instead (approximately USD1.50 per hour). 8 In
2005 Cuban computer ownership was 3.3 per
100 inhabitants. 9 An unknown number of Cubans
illegally access the Internet through black market
purchases of access or illegally shared authorized connections. 10
Although the Cuban people primarily use
connections to send e-mail, the Cuban government hopes to use the Internet to spread its political messages, promote tourism, and improve
the efficiency of medical services. 11
Cuba
ONI did not carry out empirical testing for Internet filtering in Cuba for this report.