Journalist Ibis Frade Brito expressed frustration on Saturday as the neighborhood of Luyanó in Havana found itself without water, electricity, landline and mobile phone service, or television signal, with no official explanation provided.
In a Facebook post, Frade shared her attempt to report her landline outage via SMS to 114. The state-run Telecommunications Company of Cuba S.A. (Etecsa) replied that her line was already reported.
Frade elaborated that this report was initially made in April and had been marked as resolved by the company.
"No power, no water, no landline or mobile phone service, no TV signal. No one explains what's happening," Frade wrote, noting her attempts to reach out to the Havana government, Etecsa, the Cuban Presidency, and the Electric Union went unanswered.
The situation impacted her son, who wanted to watch cartoons but couldn't due to the lack of electricity and TV signal. "Mom, I want to watch the cartoons..." the journalist recounted.
Other residents commented on longstanding issues with landline services in various parts of Luyanó.
A local woman reported her line has been out since March, and Etecsa's office in Aldabó advised not to report again due to a lack of cables to fix the issue.
Another resident, without a landline for seven months, criticized the customer service system, explaining that each new report is treated as a separate incident, ignoring previous ones.
A Cuban emigrant in 2025 mentioned her two phone lines have been reported since January 2024, never regaining a dial tone.
One comment attributed the phone service outage to a lack of fuel backup for the communication centers. This explanation surfaces amidst resident complaints about concurrent outages in electricity, water, and TV service.
The shared stories reveal that service disruptions are not just isolated phone issues and that some problems have persisted for months.
Last Thursday, Aguas de La Habana announced a major pipeline failure that left Diez de Octubre—home to Luyanó—and other areas like Regla, Guanabacoa, San Miguel del Padrón, and East Havana without water.
This is compounded by daily reported power generation deficits from the Electric Union, causing outages in many places, sometimes lasting over 24 hours.
Luyanó has a history of protests over these same issues. In June, locals demanded water and electricity after more than 30 hours without power.
In July, a protest on Luyanó's main road resulted in at least 24 arrests. In April, residents of Tamarindo Street banged pots for hours due to power outages.
Etecsa admitted in June that their backup batteries only last a few hours during blackouts, leaving about 47.5% of mobile radio bases out of service during power cuts.
Recently, the state telecom monopoly posted on social media asking clients if they had landlines to subscribe to e-billing, prompting ridicule and complaints from Cubans who have been without service yet still receive bills.
Understanding Luyanó's Service Outages
What services were affected in Luyanó?
Luyanó residents experienced outages in water, electricity, landline and mobile phone services, as well as television signals.
How long have these issues been occurring?
Some issues, particularly with landline services, have persisted for several months, with reports dating back to March.
What has been the response from the authorities?
Authorities have not provided explanations, and attempts to contact them have gone unanswered, leaving residents frustrated and without information.