Cuba's Pending Tech Revolution

dcblogs writes The White House order last week lifting economic sanctions against Cuba specifically singles out technology, from telecommunication networks to consumer tech. There's much potential and many obstacles. Cuba has an educated population craving technology, but it has little income for new tech. The Cuban government wants to trade with the U.S., but is paranoid about the outside world and has limited Internet access to 5% to 10% of the population, at best. "The government has been very reluctant to have open Internet access," said Harley Shaiken, chairman of the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. But "there is real hunger for technology," and with the easing of the embargo, the government "will be facing new pressures," he said. The country needs a complete technology upgrade, including to its electric grid, and the money to finance these improvements. "Markets like Cuba, which will require a wholesale construction of new infrastructure, don't come along often, if ever," said Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO of CompTIA, a tech industry trade group. "The flood of companies lining up to get in should be quite substantial," he said. Cuba has a population of about 11 million, about the same size as the Dominican Republic, which spends about $1 billion annually on technology and related services, according to IDC. But capital spending today on IT in Cuba may be no more than $200 million annually.

Comments

Toothpaste

[rikkards]

I think they probably want decent toothpaste more than the latest iThingie. They love getting toothpaste as tips.

Re:Did Congress pass a law?

[bruce_the_loon]

Then Congress should pass that law ASAP. It's ridiculous, just like a child throwing a temper tantrum.

US Ego

[frovingslosh]

Cuba is NOT about to make any big changes. At least not unless the man who has been busy trying to destroy this country by Executive Action decides to prop up the Communist Government at our expense. The idea that Cuba has been suffering from an isolationist policy imposed by the United States is bogus. We were (somewhat) cut off from Cuba by our government, but we are only one country. Canada and most of the rest of the world has still been trading with them. Sure, Cubans drive around old American cars from the 50's, but they keep them running and keep fueling them with imported gasoline. Other countries would be glad to sell them newer cars, it is just that when you have a communist mindset keeping the economy depressed, no one has the money to buy new modern expensive cars.

Sure, they might sell Americans some cigars, although there has been a supply of them coming in through Canada already. They will not be selling us sugar, but not because of any real barrier. Rather because of a completely artificial barrier, Cubans who moved to Florida when Castro took power have gotten laws in place that impose such high tariffs on imported sugar that we can't import it, and we have higher prices on Sugar than the rest of the world, with all of that money going into the pockets of a few politically powerful Cubans in America who grow sugar and trickling down to the politicians they buy to keep the system in place.

Cuba is going to see a little bump in tourism, at least while the novelty is still there, but it will not be that much or make a big impact, they already have tourism from the rest of the world and from Americans going there through Canada who show their American passports and ask that they not be stamped to avoid problems back home. We will still over pay for sugar compared to the rest of the world and have tariffs that keep us from importing it from Cuba.