Cubans build secret network despite Wi-Fi ban
2015-01-26 10:31 by Daniela
In an attempt to circumvent the lack of Internet, a group of young Cubans have deployed a hidden network across Havana, linking thousands of computers and allowing them to communicate with friends and do all other things that regular Internet users do.
As wireless home networks are banned in Cuba, only few people can afford home Internet access and for those who can't, the government offers Internet hotels and centers, where an hour costs as much as a quarter monthly salary. As a result, most people on the island live offline, having no access to information and contact with friends and family abroad.
"We really need Internet because there's so much information online, but at least this satisfies you a little bit because you feel like, 'I'm connected with a bunch of people, talking to them, sharing files," said Rafael Antonio Broche Moreno, a 22-year-old electrical engineer who helped build the network known as SNet, short for streetnet.
Cuban officials blame the U.S. trade embargo as a reason for the limited Internet access. According to them, the embargo has prevented advanced U.S. technology from reaching Cuba and starved the government of the cash it needs to buy equipment from other nations.
Read more -here-
