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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Google has supplied equipment for the
studio of Cuban artist Alexis Leiva Machado (kown as "Kcho") in
barrio Romerillo, in Havana. The facility is reported to have a
70mps link and supports free access for about 40 users, although
users report spotty actual access. Kcho is well connected to the
Cuban government and reputedly is paying the $US 900/mo access
cost, this in a country where the average salary is about
$20/month, and paid access is $2/hour. This is probably more a
symbolic effort than a real opening in Cuba for either Cuban
access or Google's presence. The Cuban phone company roll out of
hotspots in community locations, and an eventual reduction in
access costs are where change will take place. The University of
Havana wi-fi effort is intended to extend (paid) access to the
neighborhoods surrounding the multiple UofH campuses in Havana. It
is hard to tell when cell and internet access will be open to
competition as in Myanmar, since that is where access will explode
and costs will fall. <br>
<br>
Sam L. <br>
<br>
<small><i>On 30/03/2016 10:29 AM, Joly MacFie wrote:</i><i><br>
</i></small></div>
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cite="mid:CAM9VJk37KAegZy4u46N+2n9hCfcTCvosWBi4JwG_GNnL3_XRGg@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
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<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:small"><small><i><br>
</i></small></div>
<div class="gmail_default"
style="font-size:small;display:inline"><small><i>Yesterday I</i></small></div>
<div class="gmail_default"
style="font-size:small;display:inline"><small><i> browsed a
bunch of YouTube vids of the Stones concert in Havana.
Plenty of smartphones in evidence.</i></small></div>
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<div class="gmail_default"
style="font-size:small;display:inline"><small><i><br>
</i></small></div>
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<div class="gmail_default"
style="font-size:small;display:inline"><small><i>j</i></small></div>
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<small><i><img moz-do-not-send="true"
src="https://t.yesware.com/t/b3b03f93acb29dde874548d979c14638352bd06e/cd5aa66cbca6b6bddea6a69db5650683/spacer.gif"
style="border:0; width:0; height:0; overflow:hidden;"
height="0" width="0"></i><i><img moz-do-not-send="true"
src="http://t.yesware.com/t/b3b03f93acb29dde874548d979c14638352bd06e/cd5aa66cbca6b6bddea6a69db5650683/spacer.gif"
style="border:0; width:0; height:0; overflow:hidden;"
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<div class="gmail_extra"><small><i><br>
</i></small>
<div class="gmail_quote"><small><i>On Wed, Mar 30, 2016 at 9:44
AM, William Drake </i><i><span dir="ltr"><<a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:wjdrake@gmail.com"
target="_blank"><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:wjdrake@gmail.com">wjdrake@gmail.com</a></a>></span></i><i>
wrote:</i><i><br>
</i></small>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0
.8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><small><i>FWIW
I had lunch with Vint Cerf at Google in DC the other day
and he’d just returned from a week in Cuba, where
Google’s been invited to play a notable role in
broadening out access </i><i><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/google-and-obama-administration-connect-over-cuba-1458763836"
rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.wsj.com/articles/google-and-obama-administration-connect-over-cuba-1458763836</a></i><i>.
He said the Cubans actually have some pretty decent
technology in place already, much of it Chinese but also
some home grown stuff. So they’re playing off companies
from different countries against each other for
contracts, kind of the new nonaligned movement.</i><i><br>
</i>
<i><br>
</i><i>
I suspect many US companies expecting to cut deals
quickly will disappointed, as there’s growing reports of
the government imposing delays and backtracking on
agreements as part of an effort to push US businesses
into the ‘end the embargo’ camp in US congressional
politics. Not a surprising strategy, hope it works. US
businesses, especially the tech sector, have become an
important force in stopping discriminatory state
policies, maybe they’ll emerge as the key here as well.</i><i><br>
</i>
<i><br>
</i><i>
Bill</i><i><br>
</i>
</small>
<div class="HOEnZb">
<div class="h5"><small></small></div>
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