• Submitted by: manso
• Business and Economy
• 01 / 18 / 2011

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Cubans with a telephone landline will have a “right” to an Internet connection at home, a deputy minister said, according to official news service Prensa Latina.

Every Cuban with a phone connection must have, as a general policy, a right to an Internet connection, Prensa Latina paraphrased Ramón Linares, deputy minister of informatics and communications. However, the low number of private phone connections “is one of the impediments” for the deployment of Internet access.

“Technological and financial shortcomings in the short run will impede” a massive deployment of connectivity, the article says. The government will prioritize public centers for Internet access, and increased deployment in schools, research institutions and hospitals.

“The deployment of connectivity won’t be resolved from one day to the next because it costs a lot of money and other investments are necessary,” Linares said, according to Prensa Latina.

Cubans have long asked for access to Internet from their homes. High-ranking officials aside, only a few households enjoy illegal dial-in Internet access from home.

The change is possible thanks to a new undersea fiberoptic cable connecting the island with Venezuela. Cable laying is underway and expected to be completed in July.

Source: www.cubastandard.com/2011/01/17/cubans-with-phone-line-will-have-right-t...