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Cuba Offers 3G Mobile Internet Access To Citizens (bbc.com)

Cuba's population is to be offered internet access via a 3G mobile network from later this week. From a report: Telecom provider Etecsa said citizens would be able to start subscribing to the service from Thursday. Until now, locals have mostly relied on wi-fi hotspots and internet cafes and the 3G service has been restricted to state-employed journalists and foreign businesses among others. This will change -- but many will still be unable to afford the new contracts. Etecsa's packages range from a month's use of 600MB of data for 7CUC ($7) to 4GB for 30CUC. Users get a bonus 300MB use of local .cu domain websites. But the average state wage for the island's 11.2 million residents is the equivalent of about $30 per month.

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  1. But hey, I hear the healthcare is good by MikeRT · · Score: 4, Informative

    Not long ago, I read an article about how Cuban police will sometimes stop buses to search for contraband food. Is it endangered species they're after? Nope, extra cans of stuff we can legally get off the shelf for about $1 in our Oppressive, Reactionary, Sexist Hellhole.

    And you thought checkpoints to make sure people aren't driving drunk or stoned were tyranny. Imagine the police sifting through your groceries to make sure you're not smuggling cans of beans, rice and meat.

    This is why I have never understood why seemingly intelligent people point to Cuba and are astounded that they have "good healthcare." That's the natural outcome of what happens when you impoverish your people to that level and then give everyone with an above average IQ only a few state-approved employment choices in STEM. You are going to get a lot of doctors because in any "free society" many of those people would be engineers, scientists and others working in private industry that doesn't exist in Communist Cuba.

    Cuban doctors sent to Brazil by their government have said they'd literally rather be trash collectors in Brazil where they're free to make their own choices in a non-totalitarian state than be medical professionals back home.