Cuba will open up public Internet access June 4, adding 118 connection points to offer citizens online entry for a fee.
According to the Los Angeles Times, less than 10 percent of Cubans have Internet access. Many of them only can go online at work, school, or at tourist establishments and only doctors, journalists, or other professionals are allowed to look around the Internet. Most often, citizens of the South American communist country must approach the web with surreptitious caution.
The Cuban government announced last week that users would be allowed more access on Tuesday, June 4, but warned people against abusing the newly instated lines.
Officials said that any citizens going on sites that "endanger or prejudice public security, or the integrity and sovereignty of the nation," would not be tolerated, stressing that they would be particularly watchful of any activity on "counter-revolutionary" sites.
The AFP reported that Cuba can be found among South America's lowest rungs of Internet access. Out of the 11.1 million citizens currently living there, only about 2.6 million have been allowed online in the recent past.
Starting Tuesday, Cubans will be able to peruse a restricted number of state-run sites.
The access extension-using an underwater fiber-optic cable from Venezuela that will reportedly be lengthened as time goes on-can only be used in "navigation rooms," as home Internet use is still prohibited in Cuba.
There are currently about 200 outlets for Internet access, mostly in hotels, that allow online service for a fee between $7 and $10. The new Web access will be sold for about $4.50 an hour, or an e-mail check for a flat rate of $1.50.
These prices seem hefty for Cubans, who make an average of about $20 a month, said Tania Molina, a doctor from Cuba who spoke with the AFP.
"As low as [the prices] may seem, they are still high in comparison with salaries we earn," Molina said. "So we'll continue as before."
