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Cuba's Nationwide Sneakernet: a Model For Developing Nations?

Posted by timothy on from the we're-plumb-outta-donkeys dept.

lpress writes: Cuba has little Internet infrastructure, but they have a well-organized sneaker net called El Paquete Semanal (the weekly packet). El Paquete distributes a terabyte of digital entertainment nationwide every week using portable drives. The system is reliable and the organization is said to be Cuba's largest private employer, but it is technically illegal and the content is pirated. A legitimatized Paquete would save scarce Internet resources for other applications. El Paquete is also a possible model for other developing nations. Vox has a short documentary about the system.

6 of 108 comments (clear)

  1. Or they could, you know, abandon Communism by Nova+Express · · Score: 1, Insightful

    And instead embrace freedom and allow their impoverished citizens embrace freedom and capitalism, and exchange information that way.

    The reason that "Cuba has little Internet infrastructure" is because communism is a colossal economic and political failure. Free capitalism economies offer a much better model for getting out of poverty and building out an information infrastructure.

    --
    Lawrence Person (lawrencepersonh@gmailh.com (remove all "h"s to mail)

    http://www.lawrenceperson.com/

    1. Re: Or they could, you know, abandon Communism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Tell us how Jamaica, their capitalist neighbour, is faring any better.

    2. Re:Or they could, you know, abandon Communism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      What particular freedoms would capitalism bring to Cuba? The freedom for Cubans to starve to death? The freedom to be exploited by an extra-national entity (or entities) rather than one of their own? Capitalism can only succeed for everyone when it is in chains, i.e. actively restrained from achieving its worst excesses, whereby it becomes a ravening monster that eats or destroys all in its path. Rich laissez-faire capitalists are slavemasters and poor laissez-faire capitalists are suffering from Stockholm syndrome.

  2. You keep using this word "illegal" ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

            Why on earth would anyone think this is illegal? There are a lot of things that are wacky wrong in Cuba, but copying 1s and 0s without fear of some artificial scarcity punishment is not one of them.

  3. Re:Bootlegging Is Newsworthy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    thieves ? really just how do they deprive you of your 0 and 1's ? they just create a new instant copy.

  4. This would require real social networks by Dr.+Spork · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This whole operation is based on meeting people face to face and trusting them to be generous. That's the kind of trust-thy-neighbor attitude which is largely dying out in richer countries. We've become so rich that we don't need to cultivate neighborly kindness. When we want something, we just get it ourselves, whether it's through wires, Amazon or an SUV trip to the store. I wouldn't want these opportunities to go away, but at the same time, I sometimes think that our wealth has brought us too much self-reliance. We've forgotten what it's like to actually rely on the kindness of strangers, and I we hardly many opportunities to show strangers our kindness.