Items tagged with Cuba
Google has taken a small but potentially important step towards improving Internet speeds in Cuba. To that end, the Mountain View firm announced today that it has signed an agreement with Cuba's state-run telecommunications company to deploy servers in the region to boost speeds to Google's services, such as Gmail and YouTube. The deal will provide Google's Global Cache service to Cuba. By allowing the government-run telecommunications company ETECSA to use its technology and local servers, it can serve up access to Google's services at reduced latencies by caching some of its more popular high-bandwidth content at a local level. "This in turn means Cubans who already have access to the internet...
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While Cuba’s rapidly-warming relationship with the United States is dominating headlines, Cubans are also enjoying some smaller, but important changes. One of those changes is Cuba’s softening of its grip on Internet access. Cubans can now access the Internet through a single free Wi-Fi hotspot. Until recently, Cuba kept Internet access out of the hands of ordinary Cubans. Government officials had some limited access, but citizens had few options. Cuba recently softened its stance just a little, letting ordinary citizens access the Internet for exorbitant fees, not unlike the characters in Hugh Howey’s “Wool.” Image credit: Google MapsNow, the Cuban government seems to have loosened its...
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If you want a good cigar, go to Cuba. But if you want Wi-Fi Internet access, Cuba should be one of the last destinations on your list, though that may soon change. Here's the thing -- Internet access in Cuba is mostly only available to government officials or in the form of expensive hourly public access. However, there are plans to offer wireless service for the first time ever starting sometime this month.At present, Internet access is hard to come by in Cuba. Outside of government employees, Internet access is mostly made available to locals such as journalists, doctors, and athletes, and anyone who wants to use their own router for a Wi-Fi signal must first seek permission from the Communications...
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If a recent trip by Google’s Eric Schmidt is any indication, Cuba may be considering easing its heavy restrictions on Internet access. Unconfirmed reports are suggesting that Google may have sent a team to the island nation to meet with Cuban officials. The discussions would likely involve promoting the benefits of an open Internet. If expanded Internet access is indeed Schmidt’s goal, it would be in keeping with the duties of his position as executive chairman, which include responsibility “for the external matters of Google: building partnerships and broader leadership, as well as advising the CEO and senior leadership on business and policy issues,” according to company’s...
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The list of nations living in a mostly disconnected state continues to shrink, and that's a good thing. Cuba most certainly has access to the Internet, but it definitely isn't topping the list of countries that offer the highest speeds at the lowest prices. But now, an undersea cable of the fiber optic variety has been laid and connected -- Cuba is now linked to Venezuela in terms of ones and zeros that pass along intel through the world wide web. The line was just switched on this week, marking a huge milestone. Previously, Cuba was unable to join other undersea fiber optic networks because of a U.S. embargo. The line also links to Jamaica, but unfortunately, state telecom company Etecsa has...
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Really, there's nothing to do here but sigh and hang one's head. Just days after Britain promised that all of its citizens would be provided broadband Internet access by 2012 and South Korea set forth a plan to implement 1Gbps Internet connections within its borders, Cuba has shamed the trend. And in royal fashion, no less. According to a fresh report on the country's intent to continue limiting web access, we're told that it will still hamper connectivity even after a fiber optic cable linking it to Venezuela goes online in 2010. The forthcoming cable will measure some 960 miles and will "dramatically increase the island's level of connectivity." Of course, just because it will soon have the...
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Naval Ravikant is an example of the new face of dotcom startups. He sees the method of nurturing startup ideas with venture capital cash as less of a bank and more like a movie studio. Ravikant runs a tight ship, with hard deadlines. "The engineers have the freedom to experiment, but they have 90 days to ship a product," he says. "The product has to grow organically, without any marketing." Those that are still growing on their own 12 months later get to live. They also receive more funding, and Ravikant plugs them into a distribution network he's building. Web products that don't hit their growth numbers get killed -- a far cry from the old incubator system, which kept...
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In a symbolic technological move geared towards telling the U.S. to read between the lines, Cuba has announced it will be ditching Microsoft for open source in order to protect national security. Open source as a movement is based on a network of members who work together by contributing code compiled for programs and applications which can then be freely distributed in order to help provide an alternative to expensive software required to run a PC. In other words, the open source movement is about freeing PC owners from having no alternative but to pay for software needed to use a PC in the first place. Cuba is not the first country to move away from Microsoft as China,...
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