The Deputy Prime Minister, Dr. C. Eduardo Martínez Díaz, highlighted at the beginning of the Round Table that the recent measures by ETECSA are part of the government program to boost the Cuban economy in 2025.
He explained that, after a thorough analysis, the need to implement adjustments was determined to ensure the sustainability of the sector without affecting priority areas such as education.
These decisions, announced since December by the Prime Minister, aim to balance technological development with social demands. Martínez Díaz recalled the advances achieved in recent years thanks to the political will and investments of the State.
Between 2018 and 2025, mobile lines increased from 5.3 to more than 8 million, while internet access on personal devices grew from zero to 7.5 million users. 4G coverage already exceeds 50% of the territory, and the average data consumption (10 GB monthly) places Cuba above the regional average, only behind the United States and Chile.
However, sustaining this infrastructure requires hundreds of millions of dollars annually. The president of ETECSA presented data showing a constant increase in the demand for services against a decrease in revenues, which made it unsustainable to postpone measures.
Martínez Díaz emphasized that the changes seek to guarantee the continuity of digital development without affecting essential rights.
Regarding education, the Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that adjustments have been implemented to protect access for students and teachers.
He reiterated that the government maintains its commitment to the informatization of society, prioritizing strategic sectors. “It was necessary to act; we could not continue waiting,” he stated, calling for citizen understanding in the face of global economic challenges.
In upcoming broadcasts of the Round Table, the topic will continue to be deepened, including its impact on other sectors of Cuban society, he emphasized.
The Viceprimer Minister acknowledged that, although it is now possible to purchase 6 GB for 360 CUP (a price lower than before), about 50% of the population will see a limitation on a service they previously accessed without restrictions. “This represents a loss of something we had achieved, but the measure responds to an objective situation that forces us to make these decisions,” he explained.
In response to the proposal presented by ETECSA on the need for these adjustments, the government conducted modeling to analyze the impact on priority sectors. “Alternatives were studied to minimize the effects on students, teachers, health personnel, journalists, and other professional groups that require this service for their daily work,” Martínez Díaz indicated.
The leader emphasized that these limitations, although painful, are temporary and respond to the complex economic situation of the country. “It is not an arbitrary decision, but a necessary response to unavoidable financial realities,” he concluded, reiterating the commitment to protect essential services for the population.
During her intervention at the Round Table, the executive president of ETECSA, Tania Velázquez Rodríguez, emphasized the company’s commitment to transparent communication: “We continue to follow opinions, explaining every day more about what it is, why we have done it, what the measure consists of, and above all, attentive to what the next steps will be.”
The director highlighted the important meetings held with the student sector: “As the Deputy Prime Minister commented, we have been collecting a lot of opinions, especially in the student sector. In the capital, we have held a number of meetings, but we have also done so in all the provinces of the country.” She valued these spaces as “very good” both for the company and for the students, allowing for a frank and respectful interaction that established “a different connection” even amid existing discontent.
Velázquez Rodríguez presented concrete data on advances in connectivity for priority social sectors: “In the last 5 years, work has been done and connectivity has been achieved, that is, bringing connectivity to more than 30% of the country’s educational centers.” She detailed that this included the enabling of “more than 5000 services” and the increase in bandwidth in “more than 7400 services” in education and health centers.
In the field of higher education, the president of ETECSA highlighted significant achievements: “The university has had a development… all higher education centers have bandwidth above 10 MB.” She specified that universities have internal connections of 100 MB and that the university node network has been significantly enhanced.
Regarding future development, Velázquez Rodríguez announced: “The measures discussed yesterday, we had very little time at the end of the table, but since we have much more space, we will continue addressing them.” She confirmed that they will continue to explain each of the measures, recognizing their importance not only for the education sector but for the entire population.
The director clarified the current focus of the measures: “As we mentioned, the measures consist of finding elements that complement, of course, or that facilitate access in these educational environments.” She clarified that, although other sectors will be addressed later, on this occasion the analysis is specifically focused on the educational field due to its priority nature.
Velázquez Rodríguez explained in the television space that the actions designed to facilitate access to educational content in the current context. “The first measure aims to increase sites with special characteristics that allow easy consultation of the contents of the Ministry of Higher Education and other levels of education,” she pointed out.
Velázquez highlighted that this initiative is not limited to Higher Education, but includes sites of the Ministry of Public Health, Culture, INDER and CITMA. “Obviously we have to give this publicity so that it is more known,” she affirmed. As a second measure, she referred to the increase in the use of national platforms for the exchange of information, which offer economic advantages both for users and for the country.
The director specifically mentioned the ToDus application, which maintains a plan of 25 CUP with 600 MB for file exchange and unlimited messaging. “We urge that this be one of the ways that is progressively incorporated into the processes of interrelation between teachers and students,” she expressed.
As a third measure, she announced the availability of spaces in ETECSA’s data centers to host scientific materials, in collaboration with various organizations. “This will facilitate access to publications that currently have limitations due to their location or external barriers,” she explained.
Velázquez detailed a fourth measure aimed at strengthening free educational environments: “We are going to locate the physical servers of universities in ETECSA to ensure their energy security.” She emphasized that this will allow these services to remain operational in the face of the current conditions of the National Electroenergetic System.
Regarding the specific measure for students, the president of ETECSA clarified: “We are starting with university students, who are more than 200,000 who will benefit.” She recognized that it is necessary to complete the information on the students’ cell phone numbers to effectively apply this policy.
“I insist that if we had not been previously working on these analyses, we would not have the base information to implement these complementary measures now,” Velázquez concluded, highlighting the progressive nature of this process that will continue to develop in the coming months.
For his part, the Minister of Higher Education, Walter Baluja, highlighted that the Cuban university community, with more than 220,000 students, has been “at the forefront of the country’s digital transformation.”
He emphasized that universities have infrastructure such as bandwidth up to 1 gigabit and more than 500 wifi access points, although he acknowledged that they are still insufficient.
Since the announcement of the new connectivity measures, ETECSA and MES teams have held meetings in institutions such as the University of Havana, the Higher Institute of International Relations (ISRI) and universities of Medical Sciences.
“We have facilitated contact not only with the management structures, but also with teachers and students,” he explained. “There are many computer scientists, advanced users, who have contributed valuable ideas to improve services.”
Among the immediate actions, he mentioned the collection of data from all students and teachers, including mobile phone numbers, to implement measures such as free access to educational portals.
In addition, the increase in internet quotas in universities and strengthening of internal networks with the support of ETECSA; as well as 26 portals free of charge for mobile data, including platforms for distance education, scientific journals and key international databases for research.
“We are analyzing incorporating scientific materials, event platforms and key international sites for research,” he added.
Baluja emphasized that priority will be given to teachers and researchers: “For them it is extremely important that in their main work they need this access.”
“Every situation is an opportunity to grow,” emphasized the Minister of Higher Education, underlining the willingness to listen to proposals from the university community. “Initiatives, made with respect and intelligence, are welcome,” he said.
For her part, the Minister of Education, Naima Trujillo, highlighted the importance of maintaining priority policies, including digital transformation and support for teachers in complex conditions, while highlighting the impact on the general education system, which includes 1.6 million students and 230,000 teachers.
Her intervention made it clear that, although some effects on the sector are “indisputable” and “inevitable,” the objectives set will not be abandoned.
“The effects are indisputable, but it has also been established that they were inevitable at this time. This does not mean that we can give up on any of the priority policies that the education system was defending,” she pointed out.
She assured that the Cubaeduca platform will continue to be free, a vital tool during the pandemic, and will explore playful options such as Picta for children.
“Cubaeduca is going to continue being, it is going to continue having that free connection. It is an opportunity to see how it perfects the mechanisms, opens more content, even with a medium level of updating.”
In addition, she emphasized its integral role: not only is it a resource for students and teachers, but also for guiding families, with materials that support the educational process from home.
For her part, she highlighted the importance of PICTA, a platform with a playful approach that combines education and entertainment:
“In the case of children, not only the educational phenomenon, the pedagogical and didactic conception is a start of entertainment. The fact that we can perfect what we put in PICTA would allow children to have also what for them is very important: that conception of their life, of their personal enjoyment.”
Trujillo called for accelerating processes without bureaucracy: “Nothing is completely built, we must avoid delays in the proposals.”
The recognition of the work of the more than 230,000 teachers in the country was another key point. Special policies for their attention were mentioned, given the conditions in which they carry out their work:
“There are special policies to attend differently to teachers due to the conditions in which they currently exercise their activity. Having these resources is important for them,” the minister assured.
Likewise, the role of families, which in many cases have had to assume a more active role in learning, was emphasized: “Parents have to make that complement, especially because we have been establishing certain capacities that have been limited in our institutions.”
Eduardo Martínez Díaz, ratified the government’s commitment to digital transformation, despite current limitations: “We will work to recover the quality of services and reduce the costs of internet access.”
He asked for the trust of the academic community and priority sectors such as health and journalism: “We will continue to work very hard to recover the ground lost in this situation.”
(Taken from Cubadebate)
