This Art Deco, 1920s building houses Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba. ETECSA has responsibility to regulate the country’s telecom services. Cubans purchase pre-paid cards to operate their cell phones if they are lucky enough to own one. They are expensive, so mobile phone use is limited. Direct calls to and from the United States were not allowed until 2015. The Internet has only been operative for a few years, is not always reliable and is mostly available by buying one-hour Internet cards. It is easy to find the Wi-Fi hot spots because people are clustered together while operating their phones. It is estimated less than 5% of Cubans have access to the Internet on a daily basis. Foreign visitors can purchase a SIM card at the airport or ETECSA stores. But it is easier to tell your family and friends in advance you will be mostly unreachable during your trip to Cuba.
