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Google, Cuba Sign Deal Allowing Faster Access To Company's Data (go.com)

Google has signed a deal with the Cuban government on Monday that will grant internet users in the Communist-run country quicker access to its branded content. Google plans to install servers on the island that will store a majority of its most popular content. ABC News reports: Storing Google data in Cuba eliminates the long distances that signals must travel from the island through Venezuela to the nearest Google server. More than a half century after cutting virtually all economic ties with Cuba, the U.S. has no direct data link to the island. The deal announced Monday removes one of the many obstacles to a normal internet in Cuba, which suffers from some of the world's most limited and expensive access. Home connections remain illegal for most Cubans and the government charges the equivalent of a month's average salary for 10 hours of access to public WiFi spots with speeds frequently too slow to download files or watch streaming video. The deal does not affect Cuba's antiquated communications infrastructure or broaden public access to the internet, but it could make Google websites like YouTube or Gmail up to 10 times faster for users inside Cuba. Content hosted by other companies will not be affected.

42 comments

  1. "Google signs colocation deal" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Was it that hard?

    1. Re:"Google signs colocation deal" by Xenographic · · Score: 0

      "Google signs colocation deal"

      Yeah, but if they wrote that, nobody would have clicked on the story because it's too boring.

    2. Re:"Google signs colocation deal" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "You'll never believe what sexy YouTube videos Cubans are watching after Google signs colocation deal....!!!!!"

      I'd click that

    3. Re:"Google signs colocation deal" by SEE · · Score: 1

      Over/under on the expropriation of the hardware by the Cuban government?

    4. Re:"Google signs colocation deal" by mysidia · · Score: 1

      If you look at the article's headline on the face of it, absent the article, It sounds like a deal with Google intelligence to share more private/personal data about Google's wordwide users (including US users) with Cuba's government.

      "Allowing faster access to the companies data"

      Let's not forget what kind of data Google has on us, I mean..... things like our full browsing history..... very interesting to some governments of the world, not just our own government, I'm sure.

    5. Re:"Google signs colocation deal" by The-Ixian · · Score: 1

      You are part of the problem...

      --
      My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
  2. I got it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Move to Cuba > buy internet access >start storing the internet in a series of servers > broadcast for lower rates > profit!

    1. Re:I got it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So...from the thrall of Castro to the thrall of Google. So much for a big improvement.

  3. What happened to "do no evil"? by Trailer+Trash · · Score: 0

    Seriously - any deal to give Cuban government insiders (do you really think any of the little people will benefit from this?) better internet access - or better anything - is evil.

    1. Re:What happened to "do no evil"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... any deal to give Cuban government insiders ...

      Have you forgotten what happened to communism when the Russians got access to Western publications? Cuba uses sneaker-net instead of internet and probably has less censorship but this is baby steps in the correct direction.

    2. Re:What happened to "do no evil"? by Narcocide · · Score: 3, Informative

      What happened to "do no evil"?

      I'm pretty sure that it was reported upon and in fact even re-posted here on Slashdot when it was noticed publicly that they had removed it from their company charter. It's worth noting though that it was never any sort of official, legally-binding commitment. More just an idea about a statement of purpose that they have since apparently changed their minds about.

    3. Re:What happened to "do no evil"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Bringing faster Internet to more people in Cuba is not evil, even if only a limited number of government insiders benefits for it. They will be exposed to more freely available information that is not directly controlled by the government, which is good.

    4. Re:What happened to "do no evil"? by Trailer+Trash · · Score: 2

      Bringing faster Internet to more people in Cuba is not evil, even if only a limited number of government insiders benefits for it. They will be exposed to more freely available information that is not directly controlled by the government, which is good.

      The naivety hurts. The whole point of the deal is for the information to be directly controlled by the government, which is bad. It's only for government insiders, anyway. If Google (or anyone else) wants to set up free, uncensored internet cafes there I'd love to see it.

    5. Re:What happened to "do no evil"? by swillden · · Score: 1

      What happened to "do no evil"?

      I'm pretty sure that it was reported upon and in fact even re-posted here on Slashdot when it was noticed publicly that they had removed it from their company charter. It's worth noting though that it was never any sort of official, legally-binding commitment. More just an idea about a statement of purpose that they have since apparently changed their minds about.

      Sigh.

      1. The motto is "Don't be evil", not "Do no evil". The latter is impossible for anyone to accomplish, the law of unintended consequences -- among other issues -- guarantees that. The former makes clear that the goal is to avoid systematically doing evil, which is achievable.

      2. It was never part of any company charter. It was an important internal guideline.

      3. Google has never "changed their minds" about the motto. It remains an important internal guideline. I can vouch for the fact that it still gets employed in internal decisionmaking meetings to shoot down ideas that mistreat users or have big potential social/cultural negative implications.

      4. I don't really see how providing anyone with better Internet service could be evil. In particular in this case it sounds like the plan is to deploy Google's content distribution network (CDN) to Cuba. That mostly means caching YouTube videos on local servers so they load faster. Oh noes! Rich/powerful Cubans (and tourists at fancy hotels) will have quick-loading cat videos!

      5. Google is clearly hoping that the many changes going on in Cuba and in its relations with the United States will begin to make Internet service more broadly available to the Cuban populace, which will make this CDN infrastructure more valuable over time.

      Disclaimer: In case it's not obvious, I work for Google but I am not speaking for Google. The above represents my personal opinions and observations, not official company policy. Oh, and I don't know anything about this Cuban deployment except what I read in the public news.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
  4. How did the get around the embargo? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've wanted to visit Cuba for many years, but the US (even with the recent softening) is extremely hostile to Cuba. And, forbids its citizens from visiting.

    It is easy enough to get around this restriction by flying out of another country, and claiming your passport lost upon return (if you can't get Cuban immigration officials to stamp a piece of paper instead of your passport directly).

    But, you have to travel with only cash. Your US issued bank card will not work, and you would get in trouble if it did, due to violating the embargo.

    So, Google is also based in this same country that restricts freedom of travel and association of its citizens-- how does Google get away with this when humans are forbidden.

    1. Re:How did the get around the embargo? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Been to Cuba about 10 times.

      The Cuban immigration officials stamp a paper that they hand you upon arrival (tourist visa), and take it back upon departure. If you lose that paper, you cannot leave the country (but you simply pay a fine IIRC and you leave).

      Cuba is not what american propaganda TV has led you to believe it is.

      There is definitely poverty, just like pretty much every country in the Caribbean, democratic, capitalist or communist, but generally speaking Cubans seem as content as any other citizen of any other Caribbean county. Overall nice people.

      Also, IMHO, the US embargo has created this weird "stuck in the 50`s" atmosphere in the country that I find quite charming and unique.

  5. Real fix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    is to run a cable from Miami to Havana.

    1. Re:Real fix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just use wireless.

    2. Re:Real fix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why? Miami will be underwater when climate change affects sea levels in 100 years. Cuba will probably be the place where the next overpriced condos and timeshares are going to happen.

    3. Re:Real fix by mysidia · · Score: 1

      Why don't they extend and upgrade the high-speed fibre links back to the US mainland that exist in Guantanamo bay, Cuba ?

    4. Re:Real fix by petermgreen · · Score: 1

      Undersea cables are an expensive long term project. It takes years to go from concept to surveys to permits to installation and finally to actually selling services over the line, and that's assuming a friendly political enironment. If politicans are obstructive it can take even longer or stall indefinately.

      Local CDN nodes on the other hand are relatively cheap and quick to deploy

      --
      note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
  6. So Google just violated Net Neutrality but.. OK? by CajunArson · · Score: 0

    Yeah so if this happened here in America we'd have the usual litany of whines about how Net Neutrality has been destroyed and that it's all Trump's fault blah blah blah.

    But if it happens in Cuba? Cool, no problem.

    --
    AntiFA: An abbreviation for Anti First Amendment.
  7. Re:So Google just violated Net Neutrality but.. OK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How is adding local servers for to serve contents of local interest violating Net Neutrality in anyway?

  8. Re: Who cares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm sure Trump will divest but honestly who cares?

    Anybody with a lick of sense. Not only should he divest, he should give up all his assets into the care of the Treasury.

    The reason so much of America hired him is because he is a businessman, not a politician.

    Maybe, but they're not all gullible enough that they won't be concerned if he starts enriching himself apt their expense.

    The fact that he has so many company assets to divest shows that all of the people saying Trump was not very successful were obviously lying.

    Nope, it means you were obviously not listeningto the details. He's morally bankrupt, obviously, but he has managed a web of assets. People who have been saying he was not successful mean things like not successful to the extent he claims, and that many of his alleged assets are really concealed under a mask of deceits, a shell game.

    At least Trumps conflicts of interest are all public, unlike the rest of DC who hides financial ties under several layers and family connections. I would be fine with Trump keeping stake in his companies and simply disclosing when any proposals he makes may benefit him.

    Too bad for you that Trump's conflicts on interest are not all public, his financial ties are hidden under
    several layers and family connections. Even his own assets are a complicated mess of mortgages, loans, disbursements and other such things. Oh wait, did you think he straight up owned only stuff with his name blazoned on it? Hardly.

    Heck, just see if he has assets in Boeing or Lockheed Martin. Or assets that beneft from their fall.

  9. hashtag slashdot clickbait modus operandi by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How is adding local servers for to serve contents of local interest violating Net Neutrality in anyway?

    You knew full well when you posted that comment that the commenter was keying off of the first sentence in the summary. But go ahead and play naive troll.

    Google has signed a deal with the Cuban government on Monday that will grant internet users in the Communist-run country quicker access to its branded content.

    I.e. the clickbait summary clearly intended for that impression to get passed along. Sounds just like a net neutrality violation to me. Oh, but now you are going to tell me that net neutrality involves nuance that a lot of people don't have the technical background to grok. Got it. We all know the clickbait would be less effective if the summary said something like "Google pays somebody to host some caching/CDN servers".

    1. Re:hashtag slashdot clickbait modus operandi by driftergara · · Score: 1

      Yes! I agree with this.

  10. Re:So Google just violated Net Neutrality but.. OK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Installing local servers is not a violation of net neutrality.

  11. If Eric Schmidt from DoJ signs off in person by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    then you know it's of huge importance to Google. What you see here is not market expansion, but a political mission, and one that Cuba should be wary of.

  12. AMP articles? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What about AMP articles, which are others' content but are sometimes stored by Google?

  13. Internet Users by slapout · · Score: 1

    "will grant internet users in the Communist-run country"

    So...all three of them?

    --
    Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
  14. "186,000 miles per second" -- it's the LAW by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Storing Google data in Cuba eliminates the long distances that signals must travel from the island through Venezuela to the nearest Google server.

    Seriously? The great distance is slowing down the signal?

  15. Google signs colocation deal. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you happen to be well connected to the government or the communist party of Cuba, you can have ADSL to your home from Etecsa. It is not illegal to have internet to your house. It costs an arm and a leg, so the rich can get it. I have spent three weeks there and you would be amazed the number locked WiFi spots there are, eg in Trinidad, but ordinary folk and tourists, it's to public squares or near hotels for their access via expensive Etecsa WiFi, whose servers can't cope.