Cuba slashes internet costs

The country has state-run internet cafes and wifi hotspots, but connection costs are prohibitively expensive

HAVANA: 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.



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.

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.