If you are reading this, you are probably not in Cuba.

I've been involved in a conversation about content blocking in Cuba recently. The discussion began with this screen shot -- a notice that my blog could not be found at a Nauta access room in Cuba:

I asked around and found one private home where my blog was also blocked and another home, belonging to a foreign journalist living in Cuba, where it was not blocked -- the Cuban blocking is selective.

My blog is hosted on Google's blogging platform, Blogger, and Google assures me that they do not block my blog or any others and that Cubans are free to create blogs on Blogger, watch YouTube videos (if they have fast enough connections), use Gmail and Google Plus, etc.

Google does, however, block Cuban access to their developer site. They are compelled to do that by the government because the State Department list of state sponsors of terrorism includes Cuba, along with Iran, Sudan and Syria, and encryption algorithms are considered weapons. Cubans cannot download Google Earth for the same reason; however, if a Cuban installs a copy of the program, it works -- the service and data are not blocked.

Until recently, Cubans were unable to download the Google Chrome browser (maybe because it contains https code), but that restriction has been removed. I'm sure that anyone in Cuba who wanted Chrome earlier had little trouble getting a copy.

Cuba's being on our list of sponsors of terrorism is about as goofy as their list of jobs that are eligible for self-employment, so I would expect to see that reversed soon.

Google is compelled to block access to their developer tools and Google Earth code, but on a recent visit to Cuba, a Google delegation said they could not accepts Cuban apps in their Play Store. I don't understand that restriction now that US companies are authorized to do business with Cuban programmers.

I wonder why the Cuban authorities decided to block my blog and when. Perhaps it was after reading the very first post in which I postulated three primary causes of the sad state of the Cuban Internet. One of those was the government's fear of freedom of speech and communication. Maybe that did it. If so, it's too bad the censor did not notice that I also said the US embargo was another cause.

In general, I've tried to keep politics out of my posts -- I see enough that is good and enough that is bad on both sides to get everyone angry with me.

Some time ago, someone commented that I had probably been assigned a state security officer. At the time, I wrote a post saying "hi" and inviting him or her to comment on my posts. The offer remains open -- and, if you exist, thanks for not blocking my Google Plus posts. Oh, and you might ask the NSA for a look at my emails.

El Paquete and Mi Mochila -- sneakernet competitors

I would be curious to know how one submits and ad or music video for distribution in El Paquete and who and how much they pay to have their material included.

Michael Voss (@mvosscuba) of CCTV just did a news segment on El Paquete, a weekly distribution of entertainment and information on flash drives. Voss says El Paquete, which sells for about $2 per week and is available throughout Cuba, has has increasing amounts of advertising, like this ad for a local restaurant:

and videos of Cuban talent like Joel La J, lead singer for the band Los Metalicos.

El paquete is a cool response to a lack of connectivity, but I am left wondering who is assembling this material. Voss says "there's no single person or organization putting the weekly package together; rather it’s a loose knit grouping (sic) across the country." That does not answer my question though -- there are many neighborhood distributors, but who compiles the material?

Cuban blogger Isbel Diaz Torres (@Isbel_oc) has suggested that El Paquete might be produced by the government. I would be curious to know how one submits and ad or music video for distribution and who and how much they pay to have their material included.

El Paquete seems to have a sanctioned competitor in Mi Mochila, a collection of material curated and distributed by the Joven Clubs. Unlike El Paquete, the source of Mi Mochila is known and, as a Joven Club project, it is sanctioned by the government.

Is this inter-government competition? Regardless, I expect that the issue of government sanctioned copyright violation will have to be addressed during the negotiations leading to the US and Cuba establishing diplomatic relations.

The CCTV segment:



Update 8/11/2015

The BBC reports that "the advertising firm ETres offers Cuban businesses such as restaurants, photographers and beauty salons the opportunity to reach their prospective clients for a fee via the Paquete."

The Miami Herald also has an article on the return of advertising to Cuba.

Please, Cuba -- no billboards!

At most, allow murals and street art like "Wrinkles of the City:"

A high-level US delegation is in Havana to discuss telecommunication and the Internet

I hope Cuba's policy is not shaped by political fear or the desire to protect government/ETECSA revenue and that the US delegation is not trying to influence Cuban politics or maximize the profit of US telecommunication companies.

Conrad Tribble, second ranking diplomat at the US Interests Section in Havana, posted a tweet this morning saying a US delegation is meeting with the Cuban government today to discuss telecommunication and the Internet.

Last month, Roberta Jacobson, who is heading our negotiations with Cuba, said the meeting would be to ascertain how we could "work with the Cuban Government on increasing its capacity for greater internet connectivity to better support access to information by the Cuban people."

The US has indicated that, in spite of the trade embargo, we are willing to offer Internet infrastructure and services to Cuba and I suspect that the purpose of this meeting is to begin to learn what the Cuban government and ETECSA are willing to allow.

I hope Cuba's policy is not shaped by political fear or the desire to protect government/ETECSA revenue and that the US delegation is not hoping to influence Cuban politics or maximize the profit of US telecommunication companies.

Cuba has little legacy Internet infrastructure to protect -- it is a "green field." I am not betting on it happening, but they have a chance to build a uniquely Cuban Internet to serve the Cuban people.

As Conrad Tribble says, this meeting should be interesting.

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Update 3/26/2015

The talks were completed this afternoon. Voice of America reported that the delegation, led by Daniel Sepulveda (@DSepDC), the U.S. State Department's coordinator for international communications met with Cuban officials led by deputy communications minister Jose Luis Perdomo. A statement by Havana says the Cuban side offered the U.S. delegation information about the country's computer systems and cybersecurity policy.

Mr. Perdomo headed the organizing committees for the 2011 and 2013 Informatica conferences and says the limitations on Cuban Internet access are technical, not political and has stressed the government's willingness to open Internet access to the general public. Let's hope he is sincere and represents current thinking of the Ministry of Communication.

Jose Luis Perdomo

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Update 3/26/2015

The US delegation visited the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Foreign Investment plus ETECSA, UCI & ISPJAE.

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Update 3/31/2015

We are starting to see some reaction to the US delegation to Cuba. Reuters reports that Cuba said they are committed to getting "Web" access to 50% of the households by 2020 and a US representative said that "as long as the Cubans create an environment that's attractive to investment ... and attractive to the delivery of services, I believe those services will reach the island." (Does that mean Cuba wants 50% international Internet access)?

A post on the Havana Times blog asserts that the fix was in from the start and Cuba will hand over telecommunication to the US.

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Update 6/10/2015

Roberta Jacobson, Undersecretary of State for the Western Hemisphere says that Cuba remains undecided on how to modernize their telecommunication infrastructure -- "I do not think they have taken a decision yet -- it's a fundamental dilemma for them. They will have to decide which route to take, what kind of system, how much to do and how fast."

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Update 6/14/2015

An article in Politico says another high level delegation is going to Cuba to meet with government officials to suggest ways to improve connectivity. Google is featured in the article and is said to have a specific proposal, but there will be around a dozen others. I know of one of the other companies and they also have a specific proposal.

I've given Google "advice" about things they might do in Cuba here, here and here -- I'll be curious to see what they propose and what the Cuban reaction is.

My guess is that Google's proposal will have to do with datacenter or connectivity infrastructure -- they are really good at both, have experience in developing nations and, as they state in their 10-K annual report for 2014 “in the long term as we invest heavily in our systems, data centers, real estate and facilities, and information technology infrastructure.”

Cuban apps in Google's (or anyone else's) online store?

A Google delegation, led by Scott Carpenter, Deputy Director of Google Ideas, and Brett Perlmutter, who had accompanied Eric Schmidt on his Cuban visit earlier this year, is in Cuba. They have visited two important technical universities and some of the Cuban Youth Computer Clubs.

At the University of Information Science, the Google representatives were asked about access to their developer's Web site. Evidently Google is required to block access to that site because the State Department lists Cuba as a sponsor of terrorism and the site contains encryption software. Hopefully Google will be able to open that site to Cuban programmers when the terrorist designation is reversed.

Students also asked whether games they had developed could be marketed through the Google Play store, and were told that was not possible at this time.

I find that a bit confusing, because it is my understanding that the US will now allow software imports from Cuba as long as the programs are produced by independent entrepreneurs and computer programmer is one of the jobs the Cuban government authorizes for self-employment.

There may be some problem with allowing Cubans to sell software through Google Play that I am not aware of, but, if that is not the case, this would seem like a quick, simple thing for Google to do. (I'll add it to my earlier posts on things Google might do in Cuba and things the Cuban government might do).

Netflix moved quickly to offer their service for sale in Cuba, and it seems that Google has an opportunity to kick off commerce in the other direction. While there is little chance of Netflix doing much business in Cuba at this time, Cuban Spanish language apps -- games or more serious things like medical or educational applications -- might sell well in the Play store.

Of course, the same applies to Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and any other company selling apps online.

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Update 4/14/2015

Secretary of State Kerry has formally recommended rescinding Cuba's status as a state sponsore of terrorism. The president says he will act soon.

Assuming he follows the State Department recommendation, will that allow Google and others to list Cuban software and other content in online stores?

Will Google be able to provide Cuban programmers access to their development tools?

A drop in the Internet bucket -- big news or not?

Adonis Ortiz chats with his father, who lives in the U.S., using a free Wi-Fi network at a center run by famed artist Kcho, in Havana, (Desmond Boylan/Associated Press)

The Cuban artist Kcho received permission from the Cuban telecommunication monopoly ETECSA to provide free WiFi access to his Internet connection.

Cuba has many open WiFi hotspots, but this is different in two ways: it is authorized by the Cuban government and it provides access to the Internet, not the Cuban "intranet."

Users of the hotspot share a single 2mbps ADSL link so it must be slow when only one person is online and very slow when several are sharing the access point. By itself, one slow access point in the nation is essentially meaningless, but might it be the first of many?

I have suggested a number of low cost steps the Cuban government could take immediately if they are willing to open the Internet. For example -- how about rolling out WiFi access to satellite links throughout the nation?

Is this an isolated drop in the bucket or an indicator that ETECSA is willing to open the Internet? I suspect it is the former, but maybe ...

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Update 3/13/2015

This is a photo of young people sharing the DSL link -- with this many users on line at one time, the service must be very slow -- nobody is watching Netflix.

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Update 3/15/2015

Havana Times reported that the connection speed is only 500 kbps, not 2 mbps, the free WiFi connections have been available for nearly 3 months and they have been offering free Internet access at the center library for a year and a half.

Login instructions -- up to 15 simultaneous users

Since this is not a new development, why are they getting publicity now?

Kcho in the news -- why now?

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Update 3/19/2015

Isbel Diaz Torres has written a post describing his experience using Kcho's shared link to the Internet. It is no surprise that it was too slow to be useful. In an hour and a half, the only thing he succeeded in doing was reading tweets. He was unable to post a tweet, use Gmail or Facebook, etc.

Needless to say, he found the experience frustrating and concluded the post saying:

The worst part of this isn’t the bad or non-existent service but the logic behind it. As you can see, access to the Internet isn’t presented as a right but as a hand-out, a gift that this magnate of the arts gives us, through a paternalistic, populist and opportunistic gesture towards those who do not have his privileges.

I am puzzled by this "event." It has garnered a lot of publicity -- I have seen more Google alerts and stories on this "breakthrough" than any event I can recall.

No doubt Kcho and anyone associated with the project knew in advance that the connection would be unusable. Does it have any significance? Why did Kcho do it and why did ETECSA allowed it?

Fidel Castro visits Kcho at the Romerillo Studio in January 2014. Photo: cubadebate.cu

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Update 3/24/2015

As we see in the photo above, Kcho is supportive of and supported by the government of Cuba, yet he says the Cuban government should have no fear of the Internet. He does not fear an Arab-style "Cuban Spring." As he put it "Cuba is not North Africa."

This is reminiscent of the debate between Cuban leaders who feared the Internet in the 1990s and those who argued for embracing it. At that time, Raúl Castro argued against the Internet, stating that "glasnost which undermined the USSR and other socialist countries consisted in handing over the mass media, one by one, to the enemies of socialism."

Will he rectify that mistake?

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Update 4/5/2015

WiFi access to the Internet was authorized and tested at Kcho's studio for a couple of months before they went public with a very successful publicity campaign. This seems to have been a trial balloon for similar WiFi access points and now ETECSA has announced that there will be more beginning in May -- "¡Viene la WiFi! Ahora sí."

I don't know any of the details like -- what it will cost (Kcho's access is free), whether it will be to the Internet or intranet, what the back--haul speed and latency will be, etc. This still feels like a drop in the bucket -- stay tuned.

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Update 4/25/2015

ETECSA has expanded cell coverage and installed a public WiFi spot in in Sancti Spíritus. Unfortunately, they are still focused on SMS and phone calls and the WiFi backhaul is 2 mbps, which they say can be shared by 90 simultaneous users -- unusable.

I understand that this is a short term, interim step, but it is a drop in the bucket. I hope they experiment with other short-term technologies while planning long-term policy and technology.

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Update 5/3/2015

ETECSA will increase the number of Internet access "Cyber Points" from 155 to over 300 by late this year. ETECSA Cyber Point access is slow and expensive -- I would be curious to know who the users are and how they are using it. That would be an interesting survey.

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Update 5/23/2015

New free, public-access WiFi hotspots are coming on line in Trinidad and Sancti Spiritus.

I wonder how many hotspots ETECSA plans to roll out. I am not sure whether these sites offer access to the Internet or the Cuban intranet and I don't know about connection speed and latency either.

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Update 6/3/2015

ETECSA is installing hotspots in Guantánamo and Baracoa. They say they will operate 24 hours a day and handle 50 simultaneous users. One has to wonder what the backhaul speed and radio configuration are if they hope to satisfy that many users. I also wonder whether the undersea cable or satellite will be used for international traffic (if it is available).

If you or someone you know has used one of the new hotspots, please let us know what it was like.

What might Google do in Cuba? Content? Infrastructure?

Commercially, Cuba is small potatoes to Google -- a mere 11 million potential users. But what of potential creators? Google is recruiting in another small nation, Israel -- will they be recruiting in Cuba some day?

The other day, a journalist who was writing an article on Cuba contacted me to ask what Google might do there in the short run. I referred him to an earlier post in which I had listed some short term steps, but I will add some speculation on production and hosting of domestic content and infrastructure here.

Content

Cuba has a vibrant film-making community and revised relations with the US could lead to significant improvement. Netflix is open for business in Cuba. I don't think the current Cuban government would be willing to allow unfettered access to YouTube even if there were bandwidth to handle it, but I can see Google employing and supporting Cuban film makers.

YouTube has video production spaces in New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, London and São Paulo -- how about opening one in Havana?

I won't be surprised if I see Cuban content turning up on Netflix in the near future -- along with Cuban film and animation on YouTube.

Of course, Cuba is a largely untapped source of content beside cinematic video. For example, in an earlier post, I suggested that a free, well connected Cuba could be a rich source of online education and medical information.

Google has built a MOOC platform and offered MOOCS. In 2013, they announced a partnership called mooc.org with edX that promised an open platform for hosting courses, but, over a year later, the mooc.org Web site is unchanged. However, they have been contributors to open edX, the open source edX platform. Could Google host an open edX service for Spanish language courses developed by Cubans (and others)?

The same applies to medical information. Cuba has focused on medical research, training and practice since the time of the revolution and Infomed, their medical network, predates their connection to the Internet. Could Google provide hosting services or high speed connectivity to Infomed and Cuban universities or to Cuba's Latin American Medical School for remote training and course development?

On a recent trip to Cuba, Google executives told students at the University of Information Science that they could not sell applications they had developed in the Google Play store at this time.

I find that a bit confusing, because it is my understanding that the US will now allow software imports from Cuba as long as the programs are produced by independent entrepreneurs and computer programmer is one of the jobs the Cuban government authorizes for self-employment.

There may be some problem with allowing Cubans to sell software through Google Play that I am not aware of, but, if that is not the case, this would seem like a quick, simple thing for Google to do -- it would create a relationship between them and Cuban software developers.

Infrastructure

That is fine for Cuban-produced content for export, but what about domestic consumption? The Cuban economy and infrastructure can not support video distribution today -- might Google contribute to Cuban infrastructure?

Google has data centers in many cities around the world, but it is hard to imagine them building one in today's Cuba, which has little power and very few Internet users. However, for the short term, they could invest to improve ETECSA's data center.

Google also has an interest in last mile wireless and, since necessity is the mother of invention, Cubans have a lot of experience with mesh Wifi LANs. Google might hire and learn from those folks.

Could they help with Cuban backbone infrastructure? Satellite and terrestrial wireless might be used for interim connectivity in rural areas, but what about Havana? Could Havana become a Google Fiber city? Even if ETECSA were to allow it, it is hard to see Google becoming a retail ISP in Havana, but might they provide wholesale backbone infrastructure as they have with Project Link in Kampala, Uganda where they have installed over 800km of fiber.

Kampala is a smaller, more densely populated city than Havana, but the GDP per capita in Cuba is ten times that of Uganda and only about 5% of the Ugandan population lives in Kampala while around 20% of Cubans are in Havana. Considering these rough figures plus Havana's advantages in health and education, Havana seems as good a place to invest as Kampala.

Havana's demographics look good, but there is one large problem -- a lack of competition. In Kampala, Google is a wholesale service provider not a retail competitor. The Internet Society lists 13 retail ISPs in Uganda, while Cuba has one, ETECSA. If Cuba is unwilling to forego ETECSA's monopoly in the retail ISP market, neither Google nor anyone else will make the sorts of investments needed to build a modern Internet.

Early this month, a US delegation headed by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy Daniel Sepulveda, will travel to Havana to work on greater Internet connectivity "to better support access to information for the Cuban people." While the ultimate goal is to better support the Cuban people (customers), the delegation will focus on finding out how and when the Cuban government/ETECSA wants to engage US companies interested in selling them equipment and services.

Charles Rivkin, assistant secretary of state says they have received comments from many US companies and the delegation's goal is to "see what is possible from the point of view of Cuba."

Josefina Vidal, who has been leading Cuban discussions with the US said they welcome US telecommunications companies to explore business opportunities, but there a lot questions. As I said in an earlier post, the ball is now in Cuba's court. Perhaps this delegation will learn what they plan to do with it.

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Update 3/8/2015

Last week, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Google Senior Vice President Sundar Pichai said they would be expanding Project Link, installing fiber backbones "many more" African cities this year.

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Update 3/16/2015

While Google has a vested interest in increasing the number of Internet users world wide, Cuba is not an easy place to do business -- The Heritage Foundation ranks their economy as one of the least free in the world, but they are taking steps to improve the business climate.

In March, 2014 the Cuban government formally acknowledged the importance of foreign investment to their economy and revised foreign investment regulations. Foreign investment is authorized in "all sectors except those dealing with the health and education of the population and the armed forces institutions, with the exception of their business systems."

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Update 5/19/2015

Cuba recently announced a plan to bring Internet connectivity to all schools at all levels within three years and I made several suggestions for doing so in an earlier post. (I am full of free advice for the government of Cuba :-). Google could contribute to this effort in several ways. One would be in helping with a backbone network to connect the schools. I also suggested that the Cubans take a decentralized approach to building LANs at the schools, and Google could help with that effort -- perhaps using the hi-frequency wireless equipment they have been testing. Finally, the Cubans are talking about tablets for students -- Chromebooks would be better. The One Laptop per Child project has distributed laptops to over 2.4 million children -- how about One Chromebook per Child in Cuba?

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Update 6/24/2015

Last week, representatives of companies in the food and beverage, infrastructure, vehicles, insurance and international corporate law sectors visited Cuba and met with government officials, private entrepreneurs, cooperatives, journalists, economists, artists and members of the diplomatic community.

Two of the visitors, Brett Perlmutter of Google Ideas and Brehanna Zwart of Google Access and Energy, were from Google, and they reportedly came with a proposal. I don't know what they proposed, but they indicated that it was for mobile infrastructure. I've been speculating about things Google might do in Cuba -- why stop now?

Brett Perlmutter and Brehanna Zwart at OnCuba Magazine

Google has experience with fiber installation, both in Google fiber cities in the US and in Kampala Uganda where they have installed a wholesale fiber ring. Might they do the same in Havana or elsewhere? Google's fiber could be used for mobile backhaul. (Cuba is already rolling out WiFi hot spots).

But what about linking that to the Internet? It will be some time before there is a fiber path between Havana and the undersea cable at the east end of the island, but they could use O3b Network's high speed satellites. (Some time ago, I suggested that ETECSA use home satellites to reach rural areas).

This is total speculation -- I have no idea what Google proposed or what ETECSA is willing to allow, but it is fun to speculate. Going further into the future, how about Google Fiber in Havana? And, when will we see those Google baloons over Cuba?

Google Fiber cities -- Havana someday?