Cuba to launch broadband home internet

Cuba is launching its first broadband home internet service in two Havana neighbourhoods as a pilot project aimed at bringing home access to one of the world's least-connected nations. State telecommunications company ETESCA said it would allow Cubans in Old Havana, the colonial centre that is one of the communist island's main tourist attractions, through fibre optic connections operated with Chinese telecom firm Huawei. Odalys Rodriguez del Toro, Etesca's director for Havana, said the government would also begin allowing cafes, bars and restaurants to begin ordering broadband service. She offered no timeline for the pilot project or roll-out of broader access and said prices would be announced in the future. Still, fibre-optic home connections would be an important milestone in Cuba, where broadband home service is currently legal only for diplomats and employees of foreign companies who pay hundreds of dollars a month for connections for internet connections that are a fraction of the average speed in other countries. Some Cubans have dial-up home service or restricted mobile phone connections that allow access only to state-run email. General public access to broadband...

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