Right on!

Having entertained statues of John Lennon, art installations sympathetically dedicated to America’s loss during 9/11 and rock concerts by both the Manic Street Preachers and now defunct US supergroup Audioslave, Cuba is about to experience a new phase in 21st century cultural development.

Broadband is coming to Cuba, bueno!

The service will be delivered via undersea fibre optic cable from Venezuela, completely bypassing the US. A 1500 kilometre cable is to be laid connecting Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti and Trinidad to the rest of the world, using La Guaira as the conduit.

Cuba currently relies heavily on high-latency, lo-fidelity satellite access, but this new pipeline with allow for high speed broadband capabilities. With the state loosening its grip on citizens by allowing mobile phones and PCs to be imported for home use, public demand for broadband services is strong.

The clamour for popular culture in Havana, Santa Clara and all the way down to the Bayamo has become fervent. In May 2005, Audioslave played a free show to a crowd of over 50,000 star struck fans in Havana’s sprawling, open air La Tribuna Antimperialista José Martí plaza (loosely translated as ‘The House of Anti-Imperialism’, which surely makes the Milton Keynes Bowl sound pretty meaningless by comparison).

Similarly, the Manic Street Preachers entertained a 5000 strong crowd at the equally brilliantly named ‘Karl Marx Theatre’, where the most expensive seats in the house cost 25 cents (17 pence) each.

CVG Telecom (Corporación Venezolana de Guyana) and ETC (Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba) will be implementing the bulk of Cuba’s broadband infrastructure, which aims to improve on the current slow and unreliable dial-up access.