Cuban Artist Provides Cuba’s First Free Wifi Spot

Cuba, which has had a rocky past with censorship since the Castro era, is now taking strides for more internet access through the work of one artist, Kcho. Alexis Leiva Machado, or Kcho as he is known, is a widely renowned sculptor and artist. His close ties to the government has led for him to be backed by the Telecommunications Company of Cuba or ETECSA (Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba S.A.), the government owned telecommunications service provider. Kcho is using his own government-approved internet connection and paying a hefty price to manage it for Cubans in search of internet access in the region.

Only around 5%-25% of Cubans now have internet access. This is due to the fact that it is very expensive. Figures state that an hour at an internet café can cost $4.50 which is around a week’s wages for the average Cuban citizen where the average salary is around $20 per month. Kcho is shelling out $900 a month for the operation. The password to the network is poetically enough, an old revolutionary slogan, “Here, Nobody Surrenders”. Due to the influx of users, the bandwidth can sometimes suffer, but on a good day, Kcho’s free Wifi spot can average around 2mbps. This is compared to the US average of 10.5 mbps, and South Korea’s whopping and world-leading 23.6 mbps.

Analyst say this is a good step to providing internet access to the island but there is yet to be any real progress towards a greater infrastructure. Although there was a great expansion to the infrastructure with an under-sea cable leading from Venezuela in 2013, Cuba is still known for being one of the worst places in terms of internet access. This has led to some Cuban citizens illegally accessing business WiFi networks and some illegal set- ups in various neighborhoods. But the Cuban government has shown a great interest in expanding its despondent infrastructure. The Obama administration too has been sympathetic to Cuba’s infrastructure problem and has loosened sanctions against the nation. ETESCA has claimed that it had established a direct telephone line from the US to Cuba for the first time in 15 years. Well known movie and entertainment provider Netflix has also stated that they are releasing their site to Cuba, though with current conditions for internet access, it remains inconclusive as to how many will benefit from the streaming provider.

Although the state of affairs for would-be Cuban internet denizens is not yet where they would probably like, the first free public WiFI is a step in the right direction for the county. So far it has been a popular spot for those in search of internet. The spot is housed in cultural center in Havana.