Ever wondered how Cubans get their internet fix? Dive into the wild story of "El Paquete"—a weekly package of digital content loaded with movies, music, and more, smuggled across the island! From secret internet cafés to park WiFi hustles, discover how Cuba’s digital underground keeps everyone connected. Hit subscribe for more eye-opening stories and drop a comment telling us what surprised you most! #Cuba #Internet #History #Culture #Documentary
👉 This channel was created in collaboration with https://www.youtube.com/@kramola_online
0:00 - Introduction to Cuba’s Unique Internet
0:59 - Early Years and Restrictions
3:25 - Underground Networks and Demand for Change
5:37 - Infrastructure Growth and Public WiFi
6:56 - Public Use Challenges and Limitations
8:17 - The Rise of the Weekly Package
10:15 - Protests and Internet Censorship
11:39 - Recent Developments and The Internet’s Future
👉 This channel was created in collaboration with https://www.youtube.com/@kramola_online
0:00 - Introduction to Cuba’s Unique Internet
0:59 - Early Years and Restrictions
3:25 - Underground Networks and Demand for Change
5:37 - Infrastructure Growth and Public WiFi
6:56 - Public Use Challenges and Limitations
8:17 - The Rise of the Weekly Package
10:15 - Protests and Internet Censorship
11:39 - Recent Developments and The Internet’s Future
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NewsTranscript
00:00Cuba. What is the essence of Cuba's years-long struggle for access to the Internet?
00:05And what is a weekly package?
00:08Let's take a look at how the unique island Internet survives thanks to makeshift methods and bypassing restrictions.
00:17In Havana, it's easy to spot a courier hurrying to fulfill an order.
00:21He might be delivering not only food or a package to a customer.
00:25Often, the courier is carrying a bundle with a hard drive.
00:28He gives the owner access to a huge amount of all kinds of content.
00:33Movies, video games, TV series, music, and all sorts of apps.
00:38To all the things that aren't easy to get due to Cuba's complicated Internet situation.
00:43This is called the weekly package.
00:45It's a hard drive with a terabyte of freshly downloaded online content.
00:50For the locals, this is a good deal.
00:52Because for most of Cuba, constant, stable, and cheap Internet is an unaffordable luxury.
00:58The beginning of Cuban Internet can be considered 1996.
01:03It was in this year, when the economic crisis caused by the collapse of the USSR continued to shake Cuba,
01:09that the first Internet connection was established in the country.
01:12With a speed of only 64 kilobits per second.
01:16However, to put it mildly, relations between the socialist government and the U.S. were far from warm,
01:22which prevented the technical capacity needed to develop the Internet from being built up.
01:26Many in the Communist Party viewed its American origin with suspicion,
01:31seeing it as a potential threat to the country.
01:34Restrictions didn't start immediately.
01:36In the early 2000s, the Internet was rapidly spreading through Cuban universities.
01:41And since higher education is extremely popular on the island,
01:45not only researchers but also students started getting familiar with the Internet.
01:48The main changes came in 2002 when the sale of computers to private individuals was banned on the island.
01:55And again in 2006.
01:57At that time, Ramiro Valdez became the new Minister of Informatics and Communications,
02:02a living legend of the revolution who befriended Fidel Castro in his youth
02:07while serving time in the same prison cell.
02:09A staunch supporter of forceful methods and repression,
02:12he became an influential regime official.
02:15In his new position, Valdez acted aggressively,
02:19pushing through a law that banned all Cuban companies
02:22from accessing free email and chat services,
02:25like Gmail and Yahoo.
02:27The reason was this.
02:28These resources could be used by American enemies for industrial espionage.
02:33By 2008, in the old Havana district,
02:36the cultural and historical center of the capital,
02:38there was only one Internet café left for citizens.
02:42A small room, hidden in the corridors of the Capitolio,
02:45charged three and a half dollars per hour for Internet use.
02:49An unimaginable amount for most Cubans,
02:52who at that time earned an average of $20 a month.
02:55To access such cafés,
02:57you had to provide your passport details and address.
03:00The manager would write them down.
03:02If, while using it,
03:04a person entered words in a document or browser
03:06that were on the list of prohibited terms,
03:08which usually related to politics,
03:10the computer would stop working,
03:12and a notification would appear on the screen
03:14saying the program was closed for reasons of state security.
03:18At the same time,
03:19government employees were given full Internet access,
03:23which they shared with others for a fee.
03:25Usually, the client used the service at night,
03:27when the speed was better.
03:29The most powerful computer
03:31at the leading technological university of informatics
03:33was also used in this kind of illegal way.
03:36Through it,
03:37students downloaded everything from American TV shows
03:40to articles or videos criticizing the government,
03:43and then shared them with acquaintances all over the island.
03:47Even such unstable Internet access
03:49created an entire underground market,
03:52and the new generation was increasingly angry
03:54at the authorities for technological restrictions.
03:57They were mostly angry in silence,
03:59expressing their dissatisfaction at home or among friends.
04:03That's why the events of January 19, 2008,
04:06at the University of Informatics
04:08seemed so unthinkable to many students.
04:11That day, Ricardo Alarcón,
04:14the former foreign minister and president
04:16of the National Assembly,
04:17one of the most powerful people in Cuba,
04:19visited the university.
04:21He was speaking to the audience
04:22when a student, Eliezer Avila,
04:24took the floor and began to challenge the officials' words,
04:28criticize the Cuban regime,
04:30and demand change.
04:31The student asked why Cuban citizens
04:34couldn't afford to travel the world,
04:36stay in tourist hotels,
04:38or access various websites.
04:41Avila's boldness impressed many,
04:43and the recording of his speech
04:44probably became the first viral video
04:46in Cuba's history.
04:48Well, viral, in quotes,
04:50since it was shared on flash drives
04:52and through USB cables between computers.
04:55The idea for the future weekly package
04:57was taking shape,
04:58and soon opportunities arose
05:00to make it a reality.
05:01In March 2008,
05:03a month and a half after Avila's speech,
05:05people on the island
05:06were allowed to own mobile phones,
05:09buy computers,
05:10and DVD players.
05:11The changes were a gesture of goodwill
05:13from Raul Castro,
05:15who replaced the country's leader,
05:16Fidel Castro,
05:17in office.
05:18Buying and activating a phone
05:20cost up to $120.
05:23That's about half
05:25of the average Cuban's annual salary.
05:28But there were still lines
05:29for the devices.
05:30The island's demand
05:31for technological change
05:33was finally beginning to be met,
05:34albeit extremely slowly.
05:36Cuba couldn't lay
05:38underwater internet cables
05:39to the island,
05:40buy enough routers,
05:42or get other equipment.
05:43The stagnation was also affected
05:45by U.S. sanctions.
05:47Satellite internet
05:47helped the situation,
05:49but only partially.
05:50It remained expensive
05:51and unstable.
05:52A solution was found in 2011
05:55when cables started being laid
05:56from Venezuela,
05:57and equipment was purchased
05:59from China.
06:00This began a long friendship
06:02between Beijing and Havana.
06:03Later,
06:04Chinese companies
06:05like Huawei and ZTE
06:06supplied the island
06:08with everything needed
06:09for the internet to work,
06:10including rotors
06:11and DPI-based blocking technologies.
06:13The 1,600-kilometer-long
06:16underwater cable
06:17from Venezuela
06:17was laid over the course
06:19of two years.
06:20And in 2013,
06:21Cuba got fiber optics.
06:23Slow,
06:25unreliable,
06:26available to very few,
06:28but it worked.
06:29And by 2015,
06:30a tourist strolling
06:32through the historic center
06:33of Havana
06:34could easily come across
06:35groups of people
06:36glued to their phones
06:37on benches
06:38and under trees
06:39in parks.
06:40Everyone wanted
06:41to finally try out
06:42the newly available
06:43public Wi-Fi hotspots
06:44in the country.
06:45By 2016,
06:47the number of Wi-Fi hotspots
06:48in Havana
06:49had reached 85,
06:50and an average
06:51of 200,000 people
06:53use them every day.
06:54Prices also went down.
06:56In Cuba,
06:57internet surfing
06:58is usually charged
06:59by the time spent online,
07:00not by the amount
07:01of data used.
07:02The provider now charged
07:04$2 instead of $4.50
07:06per hour.
07:07It's still quite a high price
07:08for regular use,
07:10but enough for small tasks
07:12and keeping in touch
07:13with family.
07:14Teenagers,
07:15students,
07:16adults,
07:16and elderly people
07:17all came here
07:18with smartphones
07:19or laptops
07:20to get a connection.
07:21A spot on the bench
07:22was valued and guarded
07:23by the lucky ones.
07:25Some people took shelter
07:26under a tree
07:27while groups of friends
07:28settled on the grass.
07:29And you could always find
07:30resellers of internet cards there.
07:33To use mobile internet,
07:34you need a card,
07:35but not everyone
07:36is willing to wait
07:37in a long line for it
07:38at the provider's office.
07:40Moreover,
07:41there often aren't
07:42enough cards for everyone,
07:43so in Wi-Fi zones,
07:45there were always scalpers
07:46ready to sell a card
07:47right in the park.
07:49Usually at twice the price,
07:50but you could try to bargain.
07:52There was another
07:53serious problem as well.
07:55The slow connection
07:56couldn't handle the load.
07:59Authorization took time.
08:01Even when everything
08:02started working,
08:03the connection would drop
08:04and lag,
08:05while the precious minutes
08:06of purchase time
08:07slipped away into nothing.
08:09In other words,
08:10you couldn't even dream
08:11of downloading large files
08:13or even watching a video
08:14on YouTube in good quality.
08:17In a situation
08:17where the Cuban authorities
08:19couldn't provide citizens
08:20with quality
08:21and affordable internet,
08:23people learned
08:24to solve problems
08:25on their own.
08:26That's how the weekly package appeared.
08:29Thanks to the package,
08:31Cubans got the opportunity
08:32to download anything
08:33they wanted from the internet.
08:34Or rather,
08:35almost anything.
08:37The organizers carefully
08:38ignore political,
08:39religious,
08:40or pornographic content
08:41so as not to attract
08:42the attention of the authorities.
08:44Basically,
08:45the smugglers
08:46stay neutral toward them.
08:47Some members
08:48of the Communist Party
08:49use the package themselves.
08:51Formally,
08:52the package business
08:53in the country
08:53is neither prohibited
08:54nor permitted,
08:55which is why,
08:56according to
08:57Western media estimates,
08:58the industry of selling
08:59the internet on hard drives
09:01has become the largest
09:02private organization in Cuba.
09:04At its peak,
09:05half of the population
09:06of the 11 million strong country
09:08used its services,
09:09bringing in up to
09:10$1.5 million a week.
09:12And the need to distribute
09:13the product mainly
09:14through couriers
09:15provided jobs
09:16for up to 45,000 people.
09:19Many aspiring musicians,
09:21artists,
09:22or filmmakers
09:22use the package
09:24to earn themselves recognition.
09:26They pay the price
09:27set by the seller.
09:28And in return,
09:29their content ends up
09:31in a special folder.
09:32Which one?
09:33It depends on the payment.
09:35You can end up
09:36in the most popular one,
09:37where reality shows
09:39and blockbusters
09:39are usually stored,
09:41or in the cheapest one,
09:42where funny animal videos
09:44are placed.
09:45Here's an example.
09:46A 2020 music video
09:48by the group
09:48La Diosa
09:49with a characteristic line,
09:51If you're not in El Packet,
09:53you don't exist.
09:54However,
09:55with the development
09:56of communication in Cuba,
09:57the package is increasingly
09:58taking a back seat,
10:00remaining a substitute
10:01for the internet
10:02for people with lower incomes
10:03or less tech-savvy users.
10:05Often,
10:06package sellers
10:07install the app
10:08on the client's phone themselves,
10:09or explain how not to get lost
10:12among the dozens
10:12of different folders
10:13in the catalog.
10:14And what about
10:15internet censorship?
10:17It has always gone
10:18hand-in-hand
10:18with the development
10:19of the internet
10:20on the island.
10:21But the main challenge
10:22for the authorities
10:23came two years
10:24after mobile
10:25and home internet
10:26arrived in Cuba.
10:28In the summer of 2021,
10:30the country saw
10:31the largest protests
10:32in the last 30 years.
10:34Thousands of people
10:35in different regions
10:36protested against food shortages
10:38and the actions
10:39of the Communist Party.
10:40Reports about the protests
10:42quickly spread across Cuba
10:43through social media,
10:44since by that time,
10:467 million Cubans
10:47had access to the internet.
10:49The protests escalated in part
10:51thanks to Facebook live streams,
10:52where demonstrators broadcast
10:54what was happening
10:55on the streets.
10:56This may seem trivial
10:57in countries
10:58with advanced internet,
10:59but just a few years ago,
11:01it was unimaginable in Cuba.
11:04The protests were the result
11:05of a severe economic crisis.
11:08Both additional U.S. sanctions
11:09and the COVID-19 pandemic
11:11contributed to it,
11:12as the pandemic froze
11:14the tourism industry,
11:15which is vital
11:16for the country's budget.
11:17Since then,
11:18it has become even more common
11:19for Cubans
11:20to stand in line for hours
11:21for basic goods
11:23like chicken
11:23or cleaning supplies.
11:25Right after the first wave
11:26of protests,
11:27authorities shut down
11:28the country's internet,
11:29but that didn't calm everyone.
11:31A month after the June rallies,
11:33the Cuban authorities
11:34banned the distribution
11:35of fake or offensive information
11:37on the internet.
11:39So what about now?
11:40The level of internet penetration
11:42in Cuba increased
11:43from 40% in 2015
11:46to 70% in 2021.
11:50Because of U.S. sanctions,
11:52Cubans cannot pay
11:52for foreign goods online
11:54and are essentially cut off
11:55from the global financial system.
11:57Thanks to this,
11:59cryptocurrency is rapidly
12:00spreading in Cuba,
12:01penetrating the daily lives
12:03of both ordinary citizens
12:04and officials.
12:05The development of the internet
12:06in Cuba continues
12:07to be seriously hindered
12:09by its high cost
12:10compared to relatively low salaries.
12:12By 2022,
12:14locals earn an average
12:15of $163 per month.
12:17After the summer protests,
12:20the fate of the Cuban internet
12:21looked much bleaker.
12:23Having confirmed
12:24their longstanding fears
12:25about the power
12:25of the internet
12:26during rallies,
12:27the authorities
12:28are ready to act tough.
12:29They suppressed
12:30all resistance
12:31and in January 2022
12:33started staging
12:34showcase trials.
12:36The trial began
12:37for more than 60 protesters
12:39accused of attempting
12:40to overthrow the government.
12:42At least five of them
12:43are under 16 years old
12:45and in total,
12:46more than 620 people
12:47are awaiting trial.
12:49Hundreds of court cases
12:51are the result
12:52of the largest civil protests
12:54against the Communist Party
12:55since 1959.
12:58Participants in the unrest
12:59could face up to 30 years
13:01in prison.
13:02But can the Cuban leadership
13:03return to the pre-internet era
13:05of stability?
13:06Or is it impossible
13:08to put the genie
13:09back in the bottle?
13:10Write what you think about this
13:11and see you in the next episode
13:13on our channel.
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