Telecommunications in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

consists mainly of

NTSC The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...

analog television, analog

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

telephony Telephony ( ) is the field of technology involving the development, application, and deployment of telecommunication services for the purpose of electronic transmission of voice, fax, or data, between distant parties. The history of telephony is i ...

, AMPS,

D-AMPS IS-54 and IS-136 are second-generation ( 2G) mobile phone systems, known as Digital AMPS (D-AMPS), and a further development of the North American 1G mobile system Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS). It was once prevalent throughout the America ...

, and

GSM The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation ( 2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such ...

mobile telephony, and the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

. Telephone service is provided through

ETECSA Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba S.A. ( en, Telecommunications Company of Cuba; ETECSA), is the Cuban state company that provides telephony and communications services in Cuba. It is the sole lawful provider of telephony and telecommunicatio ...

(Telecommunications Company of Cuba), mobile telephone service is provided through the Cellular Telephone Company of Cuba (CUBACEL) and, previously, Caribbean Cellular (''Celulares del Caribe'', C-COM - no longer operating). Cuba's main international telecommunications links are through

Intersputnik The Intersputnik International Organization of Space Communications, commonly known as Intersputnik, is an international satellite communications services organization founded on 15 November 1971, in Moscow by the Soviet Union along with a group of ...

, with limited effectiveness of undersea telephone cables to the Americas,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and possibly

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

due to underdevelopment.

Telephone

Country code: +53 International call prefix: 119 Telephones – main lines in use: 1.2 million, 72nd in the world, less than 10 per 100 inhabitants (2009). Telephones – mobile cellular: One million mobile phones at the end of 2010 (9 per 100 inhabitants), up from 621,000 in 2009 and 330,000 in 2008, when all Cubans were allowed to buy and use them for the first time. Mobile-cellular telephone service is expensive, which limits subscribership. By the end of 2020, Etecsa announced that they had 6.661 million mobile telephone users of whom 4.421 million had Internet. Telephone system: 95% of telephone switches were digitized by end of 2006."Country report: Cuba"
World Factbook, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 27 September 2011 The principal trunk system is coaxial cable; fiber-optic distribution is used in Havana and on Isla de la Juventud; two microwave radio relay installations (one is old, US-built; the other newer, Soviet-built); both analog and digital mobile cellular service established; one international satellite earth station,

(Atlantic Ocean region). New fiber-optic link: A new undersea

fiber-optic An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means t ...

link with

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

was scheduled for 2011. In May 2012 there were reports that the cable was operational, but with use restricted to Cuban and Venezuelan government entities. Internet access by the general public still used the slower and more expensive satellite links, until January 2013 when Internet speeds increased.

Radio

Radio broadcast stations: 6 national radio networks, an international station, and many local radio stations. All state-owned and operated by the Cuban Radio and Television Corporation (ICRT), which manages Radio Rebelde, the largest AM network, and the SW service Radio Habana Cuba.

Radio Marti Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

, based in Miami, Florida, and financed by the

United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

, transmits Spanish-language radio broadcasts to Cuba. Radios: 3.9 million, 64th out of 188 in the world (1997)

Television

Television broadcast stations: Four national TV networks and many local TV stations. All state-owned and operated by the Cuban Radio and Television Corporation (ICRT). TV Marti, based in Miami, Florida, and financed by the

, transmits Spanish language TV broadcasts to Cuba. The American Forces Network (AFN) has a station intended for U.S. military personnel at

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base Guantanamo Bay Naval Base ( es, Base Naval de la Bahía de Guantánamo), officially known as Naval Station Guantanamo Bay or NSGB, (also called GTMO, pronounced Gitmo as jargon by members of the U.S. military) is a United States military bas ...

. Televisions: 2.64 million, 54th out of 185 in the world (1997)

Internet

Internet users: total: 6,353,020 percent of population: 57.15% (July 2018 est.) Ranking 76th in the world for total users. Internet service providers (ISPs): Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba S.A (

) Top-level domain:

.cu .cu is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Cuba. Registering .cu domain websites Cuban and foreign legal entities, as well as natural persons residing in the country, may request the granting of a domain name. Second-level domain na ...

Access to the Internet was heavily controlled, and all e-mails are closely monitored. The Cuban authorities have called the Internet "the great disease of 21st century" due to 'counter-revolutionary' information being available on a number of websites, some of which are official news sites."Internet in Cuba"
, Reporters Without Borders, 2003 As a result of computer ownership bans, computer ownership rates were among the world's lowest. However, since buying a computer was legalized in 2007, the ownership of computers in Cuba soared, dramatically increasing the number of Internet users. But, the rates still remained quite low, partially due to the high costs of systems and Internet usage per hour in contrast to the average monthly wage. In 2019, ETECSA began offering Internet connection via Cubacel mobile telephones which was increased with 4G. In March 2021, they announced that 4G had reached every municipality in the country.

References

External links