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Mobile Internet Goes Free, National For a Day In Cuba (reuters.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the be-grateful-for-what-you-have dept.

More than 5 million cellphone users in Cuba received free internet on Tuesday, in an eight-hour test before the government launches sales of the service. The test marks the first time internet services were available nationwide. Reuters reports: Cuba is one of the Western Hemisphere's least connected countries. There are hundreds of Wi-Fi hotspots in Cuba but virtually no home penetration. Dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez, considered the country's social media pioneer, raved that she had directly sent a tweet from her mobile. In another tweet, she called the test a "citizen's victory." On the streets of Havana, mobile users said they were happy about the day of free internet, even as some complained that connectivity was notably slower than usual.

Hotspots currently charge about $1 an hour although monthly wages in Cuba average just $30. The government has not yet said how much most Cubans would pay for mobile internet, or when exactly sales of the service will begin. But [the state-run telecommunications monopoly ETECSA] is already charging companies and embassies $45 a month for four gigabytes. Analysts have said broader Web access will ultimately weaken government control over what information reaches people in a country where the state has a monopoly on the media.

4 of 87 comments (clear)

  1. Why should Cubans care? by Vinegar+Joe · · Score: 4, Insightful

    According to Michael Moore they've got free and "incredible healthcare"......

    --
    "The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
    1. Re:Why should Cubans care? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      According to Michael Moore they've got free and "incredible healthcare"......

      You do realize, I hope, that a place can be good in some areas, such as basic health care, but weak in others such as internet availability. Different governments and communities may be better at different things.

      Does it say we in America are morally superior because it is easier to get good internet than basic healthcare, particularly if you don't have any money?

      Learn. If a country is good at something find out why. Can we use that knowledge to improve our own country? Can we improve on it? Too many in America ignore the rest of the world when trying to solve their own problems just assuming that solutions that worked there can never work here. I think at the highest levels this is encouraged because their are people profiting on the status quo.

      No one is suggesting we adopt Cuba's form of government. We can do a hell of a lot better than that, though right now I very much fear if we don't change course we will find out that we can do a hell of a lot worse than that too.

    2. Re:Why should Cubans care? by alvinrod · · Score: 4, Insightful

      U.S. health care is pretty good all things considered, but a big part of the problem is that the U.S. is just terribly unhealthy. One-third of the country is obese (we consume more sugar per capita than anyone else, and we're almost 25% higher than the next country) and we're near the top of the lists for almost all types of hard drug use.

      The other problem is that our healthcare system is some terrible amalgamation that's the worst of a free market and worst of a national system cobbled together. When people get unhealthy, they don't want to get checkups early because they don't know what it will cost them. We don't have the free clinic visits of some countries that can nip a lot of expensive problems in the bud if dealt with early, but you can't possibly get a hospital or clinic to give you a price for any of their services before you buy. In some cases they don't even have that information.

      There's a public healthcare system in Medicare and Medicaid but it has its own problems and is too frequently abused by medical providers who make false charges. The private healthcare system isn't terribly great either since you can't go across state lines to buy insurance, so in some cases you're stuck with too few providers for reasonable competition to take place.

    3. Re:Why should Cubans care? by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 4, Insightful

      According to Michael Moore they've got free and "incredible healthcare"......

      You do realize, I hope, that a place can be good in some areas, such as basic health care, but weak in others such as internet availability.

      Except, of course, that isn't the case with Cuba. Nobody travels to Cuba to use the great healthcare. Because it isn't great.