The Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba S.A. (ETECSA) aims to take the coverage of the 4G/LTE network to 49.8% of Havana by the end of 2019 and gradually expand this service to the rest of the country, the daily Granma reported this Saturday.
The state-owned telephone company, the only one that operates on the island, will implement new offers “aimed at expanding broadband internet, with prices more affordable than the current ones and better quality service,” said Mayra Arevich, president of ETECSA, during the closing ceremony of the second International Cybersociety Congress 2019.
Arevich did not provide price details, but said that these offers seek to expand the coverage of the 3G mobile network throughout the island, while the 4G/LTE network, in its first stage, will have priority in the Cuban capital, the provincial capitals and the main areas of economic impact in Cuba.
Arevich announced that new modalities will be promoted to bring connectivity to homes through wireless networks and with different optical fiber solutions.
Regarding ETECSA’s public data center services, she said that they are planning on renting a virtual server to individuals, the hosting of email domains, remote saving and supervision services, among others.
There are currently 5.67 million mobile phone lines in Cuba, and more than 2.8 million ETECSA clients have access to mobile internet, according to Granma.
ETECSA recently released the 4G service for all its customers from the prepaid service whose mobile devices meet the technical requirements for that type of connection on the island: compatibility with the LTE standard on the 1800 MHz frequency, and a USIM card, which can be purchased for a price of 3.00 CUC (Cuban convertible pesos) in ETECSA’s commercial offices.
However, the telecommunications company has reminded its customers that access to 4G/LTE “will only be possible if the customer is under its coverage” and confirmed that to date this technology is not yet present throughout the island.
