The Cuban comedian and actor Ulises Toirac once again took aim at ETECSA this past Sunday, delivering another sharp critique on his Facebook profile. He questioned why the state-run telecommunications company hasn't invested in backup batteries for its towers, despite amassing millions of dollars following the contentious rate increase in May 2025.
In his post dated July 12, Toirac used popular Cuban slang to express his frustration: "#ETECSA my dear!!! With all that cash you've collected after the price hike to crack down on those stealing from you—'cash' in fresh and lively American English—and you don't install batteries on your towers? Come on, for your life, it's obvious...! You don't even provide service, honey, darling! Where's all that money, my dear?"
This message emerged amidst an unprecedented energy crisis in Cuba. On July 10, the country faced its fourth nationwide blackout of the year, with only 935 MW available compared to a demand of 3,100 MW. Just two days earlier, the National Electric System experienced a historic shortfall of 2,341 MW, affecting 73% of the population.
Impacts of Energy Crisis on Communication
In this challenging scenario, ETECSA's towers, lacking adequate backup batteries as acknowledged by a company executive in June 2026, become non-operational during outages. This leaves users, who pay in dollars, disconnected. In provinces like Matanzas, power cuts lasted up to 87 consecutive hours in July, while Havana saw an average of 15 hours of daily outages.
Financial Gains Amid Service Decline
Toirac's critique highlights a stark contradiction backed by numbers. After the rate hike on May 30, 2025, which increased mobile internet costs by 13 times, ETECSA's daily revenue surged from $10,000 to $540,000, accumulating $24.8 million in just 46 days, according to figures acknowledged by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero.
Despite this massive income, service quality remains poor. Cuba's average internet speed is a mere 3.84 Mbps, one of the slowest in the region, ranking 153rd globally in the Speedtest index for fixed broadband.
Unanswered Questions and Government Control
This isn't the first time Toirac has demanded transparency about these funds. In June 2026, he openly questioned where the money from the rate hike went, yet received no official reply. His outspoken criticism resulted in a summons from State Security in June 2025, where agents warned him that his remarks about the company were unwelcome.
ETECSA justified the rate increase by claiming a lack of foreign currency for infrastructure modernization. However, the company admitted in April 2025 that it lacked the funds for such upgrades, and the regime extended its monopoly until 2036, with the possibility of further extension until 2066.
Toirac's inquiry about where all that revenue disappeared to remains unanswered, while Cubans continue to pay in dollars and lose service every time the power goes out.
Key Insights into ETECSA's Revenue and Service Issues
Why is ETECSA being criticized by Ulises Toirac?
Ulises Toirac criticizes ETECSA for failing to invest in backup batteries for its towers despite collecting significant revenue from a recent rate hike, leaving users without service during power outages.
What impact has the energy crisis had on ETECSA's services?
The energy crisis has led to frequent power outages, causing ETECSA's towers, which lack sufficient backup batteries, to become non-operational, leaving many users without communication.
How much revenue did ETECSA generate after the price increase?
Following the rate increase on May 30, 2025, ETECSA's daily revenue grew from $10,000 to $540,000, accumulating $24.8 million in just 46 days.