[liberationtech] Cuba: 5% Internet penetration

[S.Aliakbar Mousavi]

Myself,

No worries about future affordability. If telcos and tech companies
expanded their services in Cuba it would
expand competition and therefore makes those services more and more
cheaper and affordable for the people and I promise you in that situation
even nomads area can afford it.

Let's give you some similar experiences:
In my research, I call those states like Cuba, Iran, Syria, North Korea,
Sudan, etc. as ICT-averse countries.

In my country Iran, after 8 years reform era because of increasing those
competition between telcos and tech companies now we have more
 than 100 million Sim cards and the population is 80 million since it is
affordable for even poor people.(but those Sim-Card holders have back and
force
with other problem which is censorship, etc.).

Recently, I had  a chance to be in Sudan for the first time because of an
ITU training event and
I saw there because of that competition between MTN, Sudani, Canar, and
Zain even in desert and tribal areas
people could afford to buy such services. (the attached picture is one of
those people that emphasized on the cell phone affordability).

So, in case of Cuba,  in addition to increase the competition between
providers USG can spend more money on improving economic and educational
infrastructure rather than working on sensitive issues that still those
states are allergic to it.
Ali


On 9 January 2015 at 13:04, Myself <falcocom25 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Ali,
> I agree with you on this: "encouraging telcos and tech companies
> (especially from the countries that Cuban government has less sensitivity
> on them) to get benefit of Obama's sanction waivers to invest and expand
> services". This could be a good strategy.
>
> However, there's a reason the Cuban government is sensitive about the
> democracy programs. See highlighted below. e.g. If it weren't for them you
> would have never heard of Yoani Sanchez, Osvaldo Paya or Oscar Elias
> Biscet. Yoani would be too busy climbing 14 flights of stairs up and down
> and trying to give her kid something to eat for the day. It's a government
> strategy that works, hungry people in lines don't think about the Internet
> and the outside world. I didn't...
>
> The only way to appease a bully is to fight back.
>
> Also, very important at this time are the USG democracy promotion programs
> because, among many other positives not related to the tech world, they *provide
> some economic independence to Cuban activists and civil society actors.*
> The fact is *most people in Cuba depend on government jobs to survive*,
> to be able to eat at a minimum. The few "cuentapropistas" (ultra small
> private businesses) are very heavily controlled and taxed, government
> inspectors remove their licenses for anything they don't like. *Money
> from the USG democracy promotion programs allows many Cuban activists to
> pay for the little bit of censored Internet access they now have at the
> Nauta navigation rooms, they can pay for email (also through Nauta) and
> International SMS on their phones* and report abroad and inside Cuba
> what's happening in the island. If these programs didn't exist, most Cuban
> activists would be looking for food all day and affording $5 an hour for
> Internet access would be nothing but a dream to them.
>
> It's no wonder they are constantly vilified as "shady" by the cuban
> government costly media campaigns and their no so disguised "Cuba offices"
> in the US. It's a very thick thorn on their foot.
>
> Rafael
> www.lasingularidad.com
>
> PGP <http://pgp.mit.edu:11371/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0xA5BA76902CB232E3>
>
> On Fri, Jan 9, 2015 at 12:38 PM, S.Aliakbar Mousavi <
> mousavi.sa48 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> "Myself" truly states:
>> "Like Leopoldo says it's very important to exert pressure to open up the
>> state telecom monopoly to new players. What few people realize amid the
>> current excitement is that this window of opportunity will not last long.
>> Historically, the Cuban government has negotiated with the USG, only to
>> later retrench to their old ways as soon as they can afford it".
>>
>> However, if we worried about closing this window of opportunity by Cuban
>> government then I think encouraging telcos and tech companies (especially
>> from the countries that Cuban government has less sensitivity on them) to
>> get benefit of Obama's sanction waivers to invest and expand services from
>> economical perspective would be more practical way *than promoting USG
>> democracy promotion programs **(that Cuban government is very sensitive
>> on it)*.
>>
>>
>>
>> http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/12/17/fact-sheet-charting-new-course-cuba
>>
>> *Initiating new efforts to increase Cubans’ access to communications and
>> their ability to communicate freely-*
>>
>>    - Cuba has an internet penetration of about five percent—one of the
>>    lowest rates in the world.  The cost of telecommunications in Cuba is
>>    exorbitantly high, while the services offered are extremely limited.
>>    - The commercial export of certain items that will contribute to the
>>    ability of the Cuban people to communicate with people in the United States
>>    and the rest of the world will be authorized.  This will include the
>>    commercial sale of certain consumer communications devices, related
>>    software, applications, hardware, and services, and items for the
>>    establishment and update of communications-related systems.
>>    -  *Telecommunications providers will be allowed to establish the
>>    necessary mechanisms, including infrastructure, in Cuba to provide
>>    commercial telecommunications and internet services, which will improve
>>    telecommunications between the United States and Cuba.*
>>
>> We even haven't received the highlighted part of this waiver for Iran but
>> fortunately Cuba got it and now its strategy for implementation is very
>> important.
>> Ali
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 9 January 2015 at 10:21, Myself <falcocom25 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Like Leopoldo says it's very important to exert pressure to open up the
>>> state telecom monopoly to new players. What few people realize amid the
>>> current excitement is that this window of opportunity will not last long.
>>> Historically, the Cuban government has negotiated with the USG, only to
>>> later retrench to their old ways as soon as they can afford it. They may be
>>> very well preparing the next shootdown of an airplane with american
>>> citizens onboard or looking for any other excuses they can come up with to
>>> return to the old status quo and blame the US for all their failings.
>>>
>>> Also, very important at this time are the USG democracy promotion
>>> programs because, among many other positives not related to the tech world,
>>> they provide some economic independence to Cuban activists and civil
>>> society actors. The fact is most people in Cuba depend on government jobs
>>> to survive, to be able to eat at a minimum. The few "cuentapropistas"
>>> (ultra small private businesses) are very heavily controlled and taxed,
>>> government inspectors remove their licenses for anything they don't like.
>>> Money from the USG democracy promotion programs allows many Cuban activists
>>> to pay for the little bit of censored Internet access they now have at the
>>> Nauta navigation rooms, they can pay for email (also through Nauta) and
>>> International SMS on their phones and report abroad and inside Cuba what's
>>> happening in the island. If these programs didn't exist, most Cuban
>>> activists would be looking for food all day and affording $5 an hour for
>>> Internet access would be nothing but a dream to them.
>>>
>>> It's no wonder they are constantly vilified as "shady" by the cuban
>>> government costly media campaigns and their no so disguised "Cuba offices"
>>> in the US. It's a very thick thorn on their foot.
>>>
>>> PGP
>>> <http://pgp.mit.edu:11371/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0xA5BA76902CB232E3>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Jan 9, 2015 at 2:01 AM, Andrés Leopoldo Pacheco Sanfuentes <
>>> alps6085 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Here's a feasible approach:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> http://www.shareable.net/blog/cuba-is-using-cooperatives-to-decentralize-its-economy
>>>>
>>>> The technologies I mention are in use already in Cuba, although outside
>>>> the legal system and thus subject to confiscation - case in point the
>>>> newsclip about dusmantlement of an underground wifi network leveraging
>>>> Ubiquiti Networks technology. Now they have a chance to set up coops to
>>>> provide the same service within the boundaries of the legal system. It is
>>>> very important for the progressive technology sector (people like the
>>>> subscribers to this list) to exert pressure to open up the state telecom
>>>> monopoly to new players, especially those based on democratic control of
>>>> the means of production, like Coops.
>>>> On Jan 8, 2015 4:19 PM, "Bill Woodcock" <woody at pch.net> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> > On Jan 8, 2015, at 12:49 PM, Collin Anderson <
>>>>> collin at averysmallbird.com> wrote:
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> > On Thu, Jan 8, 2015 at 2:27 PM, Bill Woodcock <woody at pch.net> wrote:
>>>>> > It’s called fiber.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > Fiber is cheap?
>>>>>
>>>>> Relatively.  It’s sand, somewhat processed.  And it carries a lot of
>>>>> bits.  Nothing else carries a lot of bits.  So, since it’s the only option
>>>>> that actually carries lots of bits, it’s sorta academic how much it costs
>>>>> relative to other things, that don’t carry lots of bits.  So, yes, less
>>>>> than a penny a strand-foot is cheap.
>>>>>
>>>>>                                 -Bill
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>             S.Aliakbar Mousavi
>>
>>
>>
>> --
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>
>
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-- 
            S.Aliakbar Mousavi
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