When we travel, giving up the Internet in these times can seem to us something unnatural, but that is because you have not visited Cuba yet, one of those few countries in which surfing the net implies a process, at least, peculiar. In a world in which we must learn to see, feel or listen without the constant need for electronics, the largest island in the Caribbean makes it easy for you to disconnect and invite you to enjoy other old pleasures. However, if you are still determined to connect to the cloud wherever you go, I will explain how connect to the Internet in Cuba.
Internet in Cuba
1996 In September, Cuba made its first Internet connection via satellite at 64 kbit / s. A slow awakening to the outside world that was linked to the connection coming through a submarine cable from Venezuela through the Caribbean Sea that not only supplies Cuba, but also other Caribbean countries such as Jamaica or Trinidad and Tobago.
Years later emerged Etecsa, the official telecommunications company in Cuba, which in 2012 began to distribute the broadband connection through various wifipuntos distributed among the 15 most important cities of the Cuban country, being Havana the most benefited with up to 35 existing wifipuntos.
In Cuba, only senior officials of the State and foreign companies have a private Internet connection, being accessible to the rest through a card with a scratch code that includes an hour of Internet connection to be dosed according to the consumer's taste. A somewhat contradictory alternative when the price of the card is 1.50 CUC (1.48 euros) for an average Cuban whose base salary is usually 25 CUC.
Yes, connecting to the Internet in Cuba is possible, but it costs a bit.
Looking for wifi in Cuba
Unless you are staying in a Cuban resort (which impose their own fees when it comes to getting Wi-Fi), the only way to connect to the Internet in the country of mojitos and salsa will be to emulate the Cubans themselves.
The first thing you will have to do is go to an Eteca point, where you may have to wait between half an hour and an hour to get your Internet card for 1.50 CUC (do not forget your passport when making the purchase). Once you have obtained your card, you scratch the code and enter it in the Etecsa Wifi network box. Once you do, the counter will show you how much time you have and how much you have already consumed.
Sometimes the connection fails but it is usually quite efficient. In turn, always try to turn off the Wi-Fi when you finish the session since otherwise the counter can continue adding if it continues to connect to other Wi-Fi points without you noticing. As a last tip, try to refresh the www.nauta.com website when your card runs out and you are going to enter the new code, since sometimes the "time session" code can persist for a whole day.
If you don't feel like queuing at an Etecsa point, you also have the option of buy a card from one of the street vendors they did wait to buy several wificards and distribute them. These sellers are usually in the wifipuntos (you will identify them as soon as you see everyone crestfallen consulting the mobile) and they sell them for 3 or even 4 CUC.
A promising future
Although Cuba's Internet network is not the most advanced in the world, the State is in the process of expanding broadband throughout the country. In December 2016, Google signed a contract with Etecsa in order to build a server on the island itself at the same time that it began a pilot project in the areas of Old Havana. In fact, it is estimated that by 2020 50% of Cubans can have an Internet connection.
And yet I ask myself: do we need the Internet so much when we travel to another country? Maybe not, but we still resist abandoning our Instagram filters and Facebook wall updates. A lost time that we could better invest in discovering the wonders of a Cuban island whose people, colonial cities and dream beaches invite you to turn off your mobile and enjoy in a different, relaxed way, living more in the present.
Adventures that I hope to be able to relate to you in the next few weeks.
Are you one of those who constantly need to connect to the Internet when traveling?
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