Havana, January 13 (RHC) -– La Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba (ETECSA) denied on Monday that they would offer Wi-Fi service with Internet connections, as was previously reported by several media outlets in and outside the Caribbean island.

“ETECSA clarifies to all its customers that this information is false, and that it was not issued by this entity,” a company press note states.

The denial was immediately reproduced by the daily newspaper Granma, and digital sites including Cubasi and Cubadebate.

“ETECSA apologizes for any inconvenience caused by the erroneous information and reiterates to all its customers that each time a new service is to be offered it will promptly inform them through the official channels,” said the company.

According to a brief news item published Friday by several Cuban news websites, Santiago de Cuba province had been chosen by ETECSA to begin Wi-Fi service in late January, using a facility that is currently undergoing refurbishment.

ETECSA now says the only service that will operate is the local Cuban “Intranet” through the Youth Club network, which offers computer time but without access to the global network.

Earlier, the false press note had said “users would be allowed Internet access on their cell phones, tablets or laptops at an initial speed of one megabyte per second.” The price was stated to be 4.50 convertible pesos (CUC) an hour (equal to $5 USD).