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NEWS > TECHNOLOGY > CUBANS DISAPPOINTED AFTER NEW INTERNET CABLE TO ISLAND FAILS TO DELIVER FOOD
CUBANS DISAPPOINTED AFTER NEW INTERNET CABLE TO ISLAND FAILS TO DELIVER FOOD
February 11 2011
Havana, Cuba – Cuba has been, for the last sixty or so years, a study of contrasts. Judged in comparison to its neighbouring islands, Cuba has undoubtedly been the most successful of all its brethren with high literacy and health care as well as strong 
international trade and formidable military distinguishing itself from nations such as Jamaica and Haiti. All of that has of course been done as a pariah from their largest potential partner, the behemoth that is the United States and under the rule of a widely reviled dictator.
By all rights those decades of isolation should have doomed to country, done exactly what U.S. administrations had tried to do, crush the country’s leadership and turn it back into a cash cow. That has not happened, not even close, and now all these years later there are few signs of a push towards a democracy either now or in the future, and still the country continues to thrive. True, much of the nation has been left behind, left decades behind the western world in many ways, however officials in that country are more than aware of those limitations and now, with the installation of a new fibre-optic cable from Venezuela, are making moves into the modern age. However, contrary to what many Cubans had hoped for the new cable will not be capable of delivering food or American dollars.
“The underwater cable will provide higher quality communications, but not necessarily mean a broader extension of the same. The cable will be at the service of our people, as a tool to reinforce its development, integration and sovereignty,” said Cuban Information and Communications Minister Medardo Diaz. “This cable reinforces Cuba’s sovereignty and opens a breach in the U.S. economic blockade that has for so many years restricted the liberty of the Cuban people. This is an opportunity for all Cubans and for all of Cuba and we welcome this new form of communication.”
About three percent of Cubans officially have internet access, the latest percentage in the western hemisphere, although strong black markets do exist.
“This is a great moment for the people of the country. This allows us the ability to 
protest aggression from foreign powers and to empower our people in modern and sophisticated ways. This is one of the great times in the history of Cuba despite the limitations that disappoint many people,” said a spokesperson for the Cuban Internet Action Alliance. “This is very much evidence that the embargo placed against Cuba cannot win, that it can never win, and that the Cuban people have freedom and liberty like all of those around the world. Many are very disappointed of the limitations of the medium including the inability for the internet to deliver consumer goods such as pants and food, but this is a minority. The gains of wide and powerful internet access more than outweighs the losses.”
The capable is due to begin operation in July, the height of the tourist season.
“It has become very evident in the last ten years in particular that internet access is as 
important as things like water and electricity. True, the vast majority of the content is things like Facebook, cute babies, and pornography, but those are the fibres that keep the important nerves alive, things like information dissemination,” said Scrape TV Technology analyst Ken Kevins. “That said, the internet is still not a magic tool for social change. It can be used, as we have seen in Egypt, but until we start to see more robust products and materials delivered via the internet some people are always going to find limited use for the service. That said, it is unlikely that people will ever be able to send food across the web no matter how sophisticated it becomes. Unfortunate, particularly for the people of Cuba.”
In anticipation of the new cable, the Cuban government has hired designers to bring their official website up to 1999 standards.
Martin Philton, Technology Correspondent
NEWS > TECHNOLOGY > CUBANS DISAPPOINTED AFTER NEW INTERNET CABLE TO ISLAND FAILS TO DELIVER FOOD
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