Havana, January 12 (RHC) -– Cuba plans to make Wi-Fi available for the first time to the general public. The country’s second largest city will be used to test the service. One hour on-line will cost $4.50.
"Santiago de Cuba has been picked by Etecsa to test WiFi services later this month," the Union of Cuban Journalists’ website announced.
Users will be able to access the Internet via smart-phones, tablets and laptops. Speeds will reach one megabyte per second at the start of the project, and will cost the same as local Internet points at $4.50 an hour.
Up until now Wi-Fi in Cuba has only been available for the government, universities, public institutions and hotels.
Cubans are able to surf the net in special public spots called Nauta, which first appeared in June 2013. Currently, there are over 146 locations across the country, according to Cubanet.
The services are provided on a pay-by-hour basis, with a tariff of $4.50 an hour and $1.50 for email only.
According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), only 3.4 percent of homes in Cuba had Internet access in 2013, which makes it one of the countries with the smallest number of connections in the world.
