You have heard a lot about free calls to Cuba, but it`s hard to believe if for the novices. Making calls abroad is quite a tough scenario and you must spend thousands of bucks for that. Well, thanks to call making software, now you can save 100% of that amount, you once used for calling your loved ones abroad. Here at Ding we know that being separated from your loved ones back in Cuba can be a challenge and we want you to feel closer to them with the gift of recharge.That's why we work hard to make it easy for you to send top-up back to all Cubacel phones in Cuba.
Internet and WIFI in Cuba
Internet is becoming increasingly available in Cuba, and costs are much lower than they used to be. However it is still much more difficult to access the internet in Cuba than in most other countries, and the vast majority of guesthouses do not have the facilities to offer WIFI.
There are WIFI points, however at different places in all the cities visited by tourists in Cuba, such as plazas, public areas, and in most hotels, especially in Havana. WIFI cards that give you 1 hour access to the internet can be purchased in the hotels and at offices of the communication company ETECSA. These cost 1CUC each, however often these cards are sold out and locals make a business of offering them on the street for 2 or 3 CUC. Some hotels sell them at higher prices (up to 5 CUC per hour). We recommend you buy quite a few WIFI cards in Havana on the first days of your travels, as the cards are valid for use at WIFI points all over Cuba. Lines to buy them are usually long, or points of sale closed.
Telephoning from Cuba
International phone calls from Cuba are very expensive. The cheapest being about 2 CUC per minute to Canada and the most expensive being over 4 CUC per minute to Europe, Africa, and Australia. You can either buy a phone card from an ETECSA to use on public phones, or call from a hotel. At present in Cuba there are 10 CUC to 25 CUC cards available. The rates from hotels may be slightly more expensive but more convenient as you are not cut off when the card runs out, and only pay the cost of the call. 119 is the code to make international calls from Cuba.
Global Roaming in Cuba
Celular or mobile phones from other countries will work in most cities in Cuba if they meet the following requirements:
- Your operating network has a contract with the Cuban mobile network CUBACEL. You with have to check this with your own mobile phone operating network for this.
- You have the global roaming service activated
If your foreign mobile phone works in Cuba on global roaming, it will also be able to access the internet.
The connection for this is quite slow and rates can be very expensive so it is highly recommended to check the data roaming rates for Cuba with your mobile phone service provider in your own country before using mobile internet on global roaming in Cuba.
Buy or Rent a Local SIM Card
You can buy a local SIM card in Cuba for 40 CUCfrom the local mobile service provider - CUBACEL.The SIM card will come with 10 CUC of credit which you can use for calls, text, and mobile internet. Cubacel is Cuba's only mobile phone operator, and has offices in the arrivals halls in Cuban airports.
Altneratively you can rent a SIM card from CUBACEL for 3 CUC per day. The cost of renting a handset is 6 CUC per day.
Post in Cuba
The postal system in Cuba is reasonably reliable, although sometimes very much slower than in other countries. However, anything larger than a letter or a postcard sometimes gets 'lost' in the system. There are some attractive and interesting post cards widely sold in Cuba (old photos of Che, Fidel, and the
'heroes of the revolution'being quite popular). You can also buy pre-paid postcards in Cuba from the shops which are quite convenient and do work. The cost of sending a postcard internationally is about 1 CUC.
Telecommunications in Cuba consists mainly of NTSCanalog television, analog radio, telephony, AMPS, D-AMPS, and GSMmobile telephony, and the Internet. Telephone service is provided through ETECSA (Telecommunications Company of Cuba), mobile telephone service is provided through the Cellular Telephone Company of Cuba (CUBACEL) and Caribbean Cellular (Celulares del Caribe, C-COM). Cuba's main international telecommunications links are through Intersputnik, with antiquated undersea telephone cables to the U.S., the West Indies, Spain, and possibly Italy.
Telephone[edit]
An 1895 map of the first telephone network in Havana, Cuba on display in the ETECSA Telephone Museum.
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 and must be paid in convertible pesos, which limits subscribership.[1][2]
Telephone system:95% of telephone switches were digitized by end of 2006.[2] Principal trunk system is coaxial cable; fiber-optic distribution 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, Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region).
New fiber-optic link:A new undersea fiber-optic link with Venezuela was scheduled for 2011.[3][4] 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,[5] until January 2013 when internet speeds increased.[6]
Radio[edit]
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, based in Miami, Florida, and financed by the United States government, transmits Spanish-language radio broadcasts to Cuba.[2]
Radios:3.9 million, 64th out of 188 in the world (1997)[7]
Television[edit]
Television broadcast stations:4 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 United States government, 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.[2]
Televisions:2.64 million, 54th out of 185 in the world (1997)[8]
Internet[edit]
Internet users in Cuba per 1,000 inhabitants (2002-2011) according to Cuban state statistics ONE[9]
Internet users: 2.8 million users, 79th in the world, roughly of 26 percent of the population in 2012.[10] 1.6 million, 79th, 12% in 2010.[2]
Internet service providers (ISPs):2, Empresa Telefónica de Cuba, S.A (ETECSA) and Colombus (2003)
Top-level domain:.cu
A special permit is required to use the Internet. Access to the Internet is heavily controlled, and all e-mails are closely monitored.[11][12]
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.[13] As a result of computer ownership bans, computer ownership rates were among the world's lowest.[12] 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 remain quite low, partially due to the high costs of systems and Internet usage per hour in contrast to the average monthly wage.[11]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Marc Frank; Kevin Gray & Eric Walsh (7 July 2011). 'Cuban cellphones hit 1 million, Net access lags'. Reuters. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
- ^ abcde'Country report: Cuba', World Factbook, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 27 September 2011
- ^Undersea cable to bring fast internet to Cuba, The Telegraph (UK), 24 January 2011
- ^Andrea Rodriguez (9 February 2011), Fiber-Optic Communications Cable Arrives In Cuba, Huffington Post
- ^'Fiber-optic cable benefiting only Cuban government', Miami Herald, 25 May 2012
- ^Marc Frank (22 January 2013). 'Cuba's mystery fiber-optic Internet cable stirs to life'. Havana. Reuters. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
- ^'Radio receivers by country', NationMaster.com, accessed 6 October 2011
- ^'Television receivers by country', NationMaster.com, accessed 6 October 2011
- ^TECNOLOGÍA DE LA INFORMACIÓN Y LAS COMUNICACIONES EN CIFRAS. CUBA 2011 de la Oficina Nacional de Estadística e Información, Enero-Diciembre de 2011
- ^'Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000-2012', International Telecommunications Union (Geneva), June 2013, retrieved 22 June 2013
- ^ ab'Internet Enemies: Cuba'. Reporters Without Borders. March 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-05-17.
- ^ abClaire Voeux & Julien Pain (2006). 'Going online in Cuba: Internet under surveillance'(PDF). Reporters Without Borders. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2009-03-03.
- ^'Internet in Cuba'Archived 2011-07-27 at Archive.today, Reporters Without Borders, 2003
External links[edit]
- Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba S.A. (ETECSA, Telecommunications Company of Cuba) web site(in Spanish). English translation.
- '¿Cómo andan los Servicios de Telecomunicaciones en Cuba?' ('How are telecommunication services in Cuba?') - A description and critique of the state of Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba S.A. (ETECSA, Telecommunications Company of Cuba) as of 21 June 2013. (in Spanish). English translation.
- Cuba - Mobile Coverage and Network Information, Mobile World Live
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