Culture

Meet the Cubans Who Find Connection in Havana's Wi-Fi Parks

“Years ago, I wrote letters. Now I talk to my son every day.”

In 2014, the Cuban government opened 237 wi-fi hotspots for “public and social” use of the internet in parks and other public spaces. Access is expensive relative to Cuban salaries, but for many Havanans, the wi-fi is a lifeline to friends and family off the island.Alice Driver

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By Alice Driver

May 30, 2017 at 10:01 AM EDT

“News reporting problems of unrest in Venezuela is fake news,” announced the Cuban TV anchor as I drank my guava juice, mentally reviewing all the images of Venezuelan protesters I had seen. In Cuba, news is state-controlled and internet access is scarce, with wi-fi available almost exclusively in public spaces like parks. When I visited the island earlier this month, I wanted to understand how citizens communicated with and got news about the outside world.

Before 2014, some workplaces in Cuba had internet (for example, universities), but it was not available in homes. That year, Raúl Castro declared his support for the “public and social” use of the internet, and the country opened an initial 237 paid wi-fi hotspots in public spaces like parks. The Castro government has since expanded the number of hotspots, but an hour of wi-fi costs 1.5 CUC (about $2), which is a significant amount in comparison to the average Cuban salary.

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