If you ever go to Cuba, don’t expect to have the kind of internet access that you’re used to having in most places across the globe. The country only just launched mobile internet nationwide in the summer of last year. Otherwise, you have to wait in line for hours just to get a Wi-Fi card that allows you to get on the internet at designated Wi-Fi hotspots only. All this could change if the fruits of a new deal between Google and Cuba materialize.
Google has signed a memorandum with Cuba’s telecom company to create a cost-free connection between the two networks. This would bring faster internet to Cuba but there’s a pre-requisite. The country will have to lay a new undersea fiber-optic cable to connect its network physically with Google’s point of presence. That process could take a few years.
Once the cable is installed, Cubans will get faster access to content that’s hosted on Google’s service and this would also deliver cost savings to the government. The telecom company currently pays third-party fees for passing traffic to websites like Google.com and YouTube. The deal doesn’t mention when work on laying down the new fiber-optic cable will begin.
It does mention that a team of engineers will be put together who will work through the modalities to see this through.
Firma @ETECSA_Cuba Memorándum de Entendimiento con @Google para iniciar negociaciones sobre el servicio de intercambio de tráfico en Internet, que mejorará la calidad de acceso a los contenidos, como parte de la estrategia de #Cuba para el desarrollo y la informatización. pic.twitter.com/uHQ7hjpINX
— ETECSA (@ETECSA_Cuba) March 28, 2019