Google Signs Cuba Deal for Faster Internet

Google’s Cuba deal improves internet speed to users of Google services.

Google has announced it has signed a new deal on Monday with Cuba’s state-run telecommunications firm in order to move a few of its server on the island nation. This will speed up the internet access to Cubans who will access YouTube and various other Google sites and products.

Google has made some strides in Cuba as the Obama administration worked to re-open diplomatic relations with the country, after their Cold-War dispute. Eric Schmidt, Google’s CEO was present in Havana this Monday in order to sign the Cuba deal with Mayra Arevich Marin, which is the president of the country’s State Enterprise Telecommunications. The company, also known as ETECSA, handles all the phone and internet services in Cuba.

The Cuba deal will lead to Google’s deployment of its Global Cache service to the island nation. This will reduce the time it takes content which requires high-bandwidth content to load. It’s able to speed up internet access by storing data on servers placed in secure centers on the island. Google has previously made available to Cubans their Chrome browser as well as the Google Play music service.

Despite improving the internet speed of Cuban internet users for Google services, this deal won’t actually expand the number of internet users in the country. Freedom House estimates that between 5 to 30 percent of Cuba’s population have access to the internet. The country is among the most restrictive when it comes to providing the service to its population.

ETECSA has launched several wi-fi hotspots around Cuba’s largest cities. The state-run telecom company is also experimenting with providing internet access directly into the homes of Cubans. The service has only started this year and there have been reports that it costs a few hundreds of dollars a month.

Nonetheless, Google’s Cuba deal lays the foundation for an expansion of the country’s internet infrastructure, which will eventually lead to a drop in price as well. This, in turn, will allow for a greater percent of the population to benefit from having internet service. However, Cuba has been somewhat reticent about the intentions of US companies, fearing that they will threaten the country national security.

What do you think about Google’s Cuba deal?

Image source: Wikimedia

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Karen Jackson

Karen Jackson has always been passionate about technology. All the way through high-school she immersed herself in computers and web-design. Her ambitious nature helped her become a pro in Adobe Photoshop only by watching online videos and working with the program herself. This is also the program that she mostly uses in the creation of websites at her work-place. Technological innovation and gadgets that push the boundaries of what we are comfortable with have always fascinated her, so expect to see some weird gadget reviews coming from her.