| Telephones - main lines in use | total subscriptions: 1,447,134 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 13.05 (2019 est.) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | total subscriptions: 6,042,629 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 54.5 (2019 est.) |
| Telecommunication systems | general assessment: state control of the telecom sector hinders development; Cuba has the lowest mobile phone and Internet penetration rates in the region; fixed-line density is also very low; thaw of US-Cuba relations encouraged access to services, such as Wi-Fi hotspots; access to sites is controlled and censored; DSL and Internet available in Havana, though costs are too high for most Cubans; international investment and agreement to improve Internet access through cost-free and direct connection between networks (2021) (2020)domestic: fixed-line density remains low at about 13 per 100 inhabitants; mobile-cellular service is expanding to about 53 per 100 persons (2019) international: country code - 53; the ALBA-1, GTMO-1, and GTMO-PR fiber-optic submarine cables link Cuba, Jamaica, and Venezuela; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) (2019) note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments |
| Broadcast media | Government owns and controls all broadcast media: five national TV channels (Cubavision, Tele Rebelde, Multivision, Educational Channel 1 and 2,) 2 international channels (Cubavision Internacional and Caribe,) 16 regional TV stations, 6 national radio networks and multiple regional stations; the Cuban government beams over the Radio-TV Marti signal; although private ownership of electronic media is prohibited, several online independent news sites exist; those that are not openly critical of the government are often tolerated; the others are blocked by the government; there are no independent TV channels, but several outlets have created strong audiovisual content (El Toque, for example); a community of young Youtubers is also growing, mostly with channels about sports, technology and fashion; Christian denominations are creating original video content to distribute via social media (2019) |
| Internet country code | .cu |
| Internet users | total: 6,353,020 percent of population: 57.15% (July 2018 est.) note: private citizens are prohibited from buying computers or accessing the Internet without special authorization; foreigners may access the Internet in large hotels but are subject to firewalls; some Cubans buy illegal passwords on the black market or take advantage of public outlets to access limited email and the government-controlled "intranet" |
| Broadband - fixed subscriptions | total: 182,732 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1.65 less than 1 (2019 est.) |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
