BR100 Increased By (0.18%)
BR30 Decreased By (-0.03%)
KSE100 Increased By (0.16%)
KSE30 Increased By (0.26%)
BECO 5.58 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-1.24%)
BML 61.22 Decreased By ▼ -2.66 (-4.16%)
BOP 33.68 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.03%)
CNERGY 8.08 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.74%)
DCL 11.64 Increased By ▲ 0.26 (2.28%)
FCCL 52.14 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-0.25%)
FCSC 5.63 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (2.36%)
FFL 18.01 Increased By ▲ 0.29 (1.64%)
FNEL 1.35 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (3.05%)
HUMNL 11.04 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-1.25%)
KEL 7.84 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.25%)
KOSM 5.73 Increased By ▲ 0.09 (1.6%)
MLCF 86.51 Increased By ▲ 0.91 (1.06%)
NBP 184.30 Increased By ▲ 0.68 (0.37%)
PACE 11.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.26%)
PAEL 39.96 Decreased By ▼ -0.31 (-0.77%)
PIAHCLA 25.67 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-0.5%)
PIBTL 17.27 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (1.35%)
PPL 222.67 Decreased By ▼ -1.39 (-0.62%)
PRL 34.46 Decreased By ▼ -0.16 (-0.46%)
PTC 63.74 Decreased By ▼ -0.25 (-0.39%)
SEARL 90.46 Increased By ▲ 0.37 (0.41%)
SSGC 26.67 Increased By ▲ 0.07 (0.26%)
TELE 8.91 Decreased By ▼ -0.17 (-1.87%)
THCCL 68.47 Increased By ▲ 1.11 (1.65%)
TPLP 11.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.22 (-1.93%)
TREET 24.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.04%)
TRG 70.59 Decreased By ▼ -0.39 (-0.55%)
WAVES 11.11 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (1.18%)
WTL 1.27 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.79%)
World

Cuba slashes internet costs

Published December 19, 2016 Updated December 19, 2016 06:49pm

imageHAVANA: Cuba cut the price of internet access by 25 percent Monday, but getting online still costs more than a day's wages for the average worker in one of the world's least connected countries.

State telecommunications company Etecsa said an hour of internet access would now cost $1.50, down from $2.

But that is still a small fortune in a country where the average salary is $29 a month.

Cuba has one of the lowest internet access rates in the world.

One of US President Barack Obama's stated goals in announcing an historic rapprochement with the communist island in December 2014 was to improve Cubans' internet access.

Last year, just one-third of Cubans went online, according to official statistics.

The country has some 900 state-run internet cafes and 200 wifi hotspots. But connection costs are prohibitively expensive for most.

Only restricted professions such as journalists and doctors are allowed internet service at home.

But Etecsa said it was considering a policy change.

It is preparing to give 2,000 Havana residents home connections in a two-month "experiment," said Etecsa official Ana Maria Mendez.

The goal is to "evaluate, in a real-world scenario, the possibilities" for expanding home internet use, she said.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Press), 2016

Comments

Comments are closed for this article.