According to the recent CubaNet article, “In Cuba something as simple as a landline phone is almost impossible to achieve, as the state is the only one who assigns them, and only a privileged few authorized by the government are eligible for this service. On the black market the price of a landline is between $600 and $1,000 U.S., a high price that most cannot afford.”
The post also mentions that “neighborhood networks in Cuba have grown considerably in recent times. They are nothing more than computer network connections between people living relatively close by. The young and not so young share videos, music, and all kinds of files. There is offline social networking (no internet connection), video servers, applications and games. All this without showing face to the Internet and bypassing government controls and censorship.” This form of communicating and sharing content with out access to the Internet, whether it be via flash drives or local area networks, has been coined by Yoani Sánchez and others as “The Internet without the Internet” in Cuba.
“One of the great advantages that such connections offer Cubans, whether wired or wireless (Wi-Fi), is the use of VOIP (voice over IP)” says CubaNet. “This technology allows calls between users that are connected without using the fixed network of ETECSA,” the state owned telecommunications monopoly.
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To read the full article (Spanish), click here.