What Changes with the New Internet Rates in Cuba?
as Etecsa scrambles for more dollars
By Yenys Laura Prieto (El Toque)
HAVANA TIMES – The Cuban government needs dollars. The Telecommunications Company of Cuba (Etecsa) can provide them. The equation seems straightforward: the people in Cuba and their emigrant relatives endure, face challenges, and pay. Capturing foreign currency is the slogan of the moment, turned into a rallying cry, a partisan challenge, and the obsession of those pulling the strings of power on the island.
In recent days, the announcement of new internet rates to take effect in 2025 has generated uncertainty among Cubans who access the service controlled by the government’s telecommunications monopoly.
What do the new measures presented by Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero before the National Assembly of People’s Power entail? How will they impact internet access in Cuba? Here are some insights into these changes.
In his December 18th address, the Marrero emphasized that internet rates will increase in 2025, with the primary goal of capturing foreign currency. He also warned that there would be a data limit, and “anyone wishing to exceed it will have to pay at a different rate in the national currency.” He added that the service “cannot remain unlimited as it has been until now.” In other words, the top-ups to the main phone balance in Cuban pesos will be restricted. Consumption above the established limit will incur higher costs.
One of the highlights Marrero celebrated was the creation of foreign currency packages. He also said that additional services to be paid in foreign currency would be activated. For instance, he mentioned payment in dollars for international roaming, a service that provides direct access to a national mobile operator’s network for clients of foreign mobile operators.
The drive to capture foreign currency stems from the government’s frustration. When Etecsa began offering services in the national currency, dollar-denominated packages lost popularity, according to the Cuban official.
Behind this reality lies the failure of the so-called “Tarea Ordenamiento” (Reordering Task), which devalued the Cuban peso and made domestic top-ups cheaper, depriving the telecommunications company of millions of dollars that used to flow annually from abroad. Evidence of this can be seen in the company’s 2022 report, which recorded a $300 million decrease compared to 2021.
Two years ago, former Economy Minister Alejandro Gil argued that the losses in telecommunications services were due to “the existence of an informal market exchange rate higher than the official rate, making it more profitable to purchase packages in Cuban pesos.”
To leverage the impact of the December 18, 2024 announcement, Etecsa launched an international top-up offer on its digital profiles that same day, active from December 23 to December 29.
The reactions and comments on social media to Marrero’s speech are telling. Numerous users have denounced Etecsa’s poor performance, citing its monopoly and failure to guarantee even minimal service quality. Others question what has happened to the money the company has collected from top-ups made abroad. Marrero justified the new measures by stating, “Investment is necessary; capacities need to be expanded.”
For example, user Grisel Casaña asked: “How is it that Etecsa doesn’t generate foreign currency? All the promotions paid for in dollars from abroad—where do they go?” Similarly, Yanet Alvarez warned: “If Etecsa has collected millions, where are the investments in technology? We have the worst and most expensive internet service in the world, and without competition.”
Amid increased blackouts, mobile data connectivity has worsened. An Inter Press Service report states that “the limited autonomy of servers, telecommunications towers, and internet distribution devices, due to a lack of backup batteries for transmitters, means that connectivity almost always deteriorates after power outages.”
According to researchers from Diktyon (an independent source monitoring internet health and censorship in Cuba), blackouts directly affect not only communications but also access to information and online services essential for daily life.
After the first national disconnection from the National Electric System in October 2024, 42% of the sites supporting more than 2,500 mobile service base stations and 32% of those supporting over 236,000 fixed telephone lines went offline, according to Tania Velazquez, Etecsa’s executive president, on her social media account.
The inefficiency of the service has been exposed multiple times. For this reason, many are shocked by the changes projected for 2025. Facebook user Jenny Nuñez questioned Marrero’s announcement: “What is this man talking about? I can’t even use my data because the antenna in my neighborhood is broken, and when we call Etecsa, they say they have no budget to fix it.” She added that a 500 Cuban peso package lasts her a whole month. “It’s not my fault; it’s Etecsa’s fault. I told my family abroad not to send me top-ups anymore because I can’t use them, and I refuse to be scammed like this.”
Between June 2023 and June 2024, Cuba recorded an average mobile connection speed of 4.13 Mbps, ranking below countries like Myanmar (5.09 Mbps) and Bolivia (10.75 Mbps). In terms of fiber optics, Cuba was last worldwide, with 2.93 Mbps recorded between November 2023 and November 2024—a speed even surpassed by Syria (3.40 Mbps), according to the Speedtest Global Index. These speeds hinder basic browsing activities, as IPS noted.
Yes, the connection is slow and poor. Even state sources told Granma in August 2024 that 87.53% of Cubans access the 3G network due to geographical limitations, while only half the population can connect to 4G.
The report also states that only 1,670,000 users access the internet using permanent accounts for fixed services, while 7,388,000 users rely on mobile telephone access. It also notes that at least 735 households were disconnected “due to payment arrears and a lack of backup equipment for replacements.”
By May 2024, there were over 16,000 reports of disrupted phone lines, primarily in Havana, “as well as a low availability of replacement SIM cards for mobile telephones, Nauta Hogar modems, and Alternative Fixed Telephone devices,” according to another state media report.
After Marrero’s remarks, Barbara Elena Collado called it “another sham” and shared that she had already spent three 500 Cuban peso packages this month solely on 3G since 4G doesn’t work. Internet user Enrique Suarez stated that “paying in foreign currency for such a poor and chaotic service, where if the electricity goes out—not even in your block, but a neighboring one—you lose connection, is an insult.”
Meanwhile, Jorge Pernas warned that since July 11, 2021, “internet speed has been rationed like drops from a faucet—no streaming or YouTube, just text messages, and very slow ones.” For Cuban Sofía Gallego: “[They aim to] push us back years, when very few could afford the internet in Cuba, thus limiting the information flow. They want to leave us uninformed.”
Censorship and strict state control over virtual environments are a reality. A Diktyon study revealed that out of 279 websites analyzed, at least 73 domains were censored for disseminating information contrary to the Communist Party’s ideology. Additionally, during protests, internet access is restricted on the island.
A report by the NGO Freedom House, covering up to May 2024, denounces that digital platform access continues to be limited by the authorities during crises and times of heightened public discontent, attempting to control and punish opposition.
The government wants dollars. Etecsa can provide them, as the monopoly controlled by the military’s Gaesa conglomerate. Cubans, increasingly scattered worldwide, need to stay connected with their loved ones. They also use the internet to exchange, locate, and buy food and medicine through social networks. Thanks to virtual groups, many survive, stay informed, or voice their concerns.
After Marrero’s remarks, all that remains is to wait for the new rates, though the human cost of these changes is evident. In 2025, enjoying fast, constant, and affordable access to virtual networks from Cuba will be a privilege that only a minority will be able to afford.
First published in Spanish by El Toque and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.