Héctor Maseda and Leonel Pérez Bellette, Grupo Decoro
HAVANA, May – Access to e-mail in Cuba is not the same as in the rest of the world. Official limitations and high cost put it out of reach to most Cubans.
There are two variants to the technology in the country. The first, via Internet, must go through the government’s control. Any communication using this medium must pass through a server entering or leaving the country. The information that does not meet with the government’s approval
is blocked without the user’s knowledge. Also, machine time costs the user 100 pesos (U.S. $5) an hour and is only available at the Cuban Academy of Science, in the former Capitol building.
University faculties and official organizations enjoy the same service free of charge, but it is only available to authorized officials.
The second variant is through the Ministry of Communications’ IntraNet, as an alternative to the regular mail and only within the island.
A few private users skirt the rules and are able to link two personal computers via modem. This is possible because the telephone company can only detect a busy line and not a clandestine communication, according to specialists.
Theoretically, e-mail is possible, but in practice it is not available to the population.
Versión original en español
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