UPDATED 04:22 EDT / DECEMBER 18 2014

US-Cuba detente presents opportunity for Internet freedoms

small__2625486511Cuba remains one of the last nations on Earth where Internet access remains, for the majority of its people, a forbidden fruit. According to the watchdog group Freedom House, barely five percent of Cuba’s citizens enjoy unrestricted access to the Web.

But with yesterday’s news that the United States is moving towards normalizing its relations with Cuba, the situation could be about to change, and it could lead to new opportunities for American businesses and Cuban citizens alike.

As part of yesterday’s announcement, which will also see the reopening of the US embassy in Havana, Cuba, the White House has agreed to let US telecommunications firms assist Cuba in upgrading its Internet and telecom services. It’s also agreed to allow the export of certain kinds of hardware and software to Cuba, which can help boost Internet penetration on the island.

And Cuba needs all the assistance it can get. The capital Havana might be only 228 miles away from Miami, Florida, but communication links between the two cities are scarce – there’s no fiber-optic cable to connect them, for example. Instead, Cuba uses satellite links to connect to the World Wide Web.

While we can blame the US trade embargo for this lack of infrastructure, Cuba’s government hasn’t exactly been keen to let its population loose on the web. An undersea cable link to Venezuela was completed back in 2011, but its use has been severely limited.

Sanctions have “denied Cubans access to technology that has empowered individuals around the globe,” said US President Barack Obama yesterday. “So I’ve authorized increased telecommunications connections between the United States and Cuba. Businesses will be able to sell goods that enable Cubans to communicate with the United States and other countries.”

The surprise thaw in US-Cuban relations came shortly after the two nations agreed a prisoner swap involving three Cubans convited of spying, and US contractor Alan Gross, who had been held by the communist nations since 2009. Somewhat ironically, Gross was jailed for trying to import satellite phones and telecommunications equipment into the country – he was charged and convicted of attempting to foment a “Cuban spring”, and jailed for 15 years.

The Cuban government claims about 25 percent of its 11 million citizens are able to access the Internet, which ranks the nation just above bastions of freedom like El Salvador, Krygyzstan and Swaziland. That may be so, but the truth is that many Cubans can only access a heavily restricted version of the web – a national ‘Intranet’, which hosts mostly government websites and few foreign sites supportive of Cuba’s regime.

Cuba’s government hasn’t yet commited to giving its people full, unrestricted access to the web, but the announcement by Obama makes it clear the Internet will soon become much more accessible to Cubans in the future. Nobody is expecting this to happen overnight, but the opening up of Internet lanes and communications between businesses, media organization, politicians and ordinary people is something that can only benefit Americans and Cubans alike.

photo credit: smileham via photopin cc


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