Although not the reality for most, several groups of young Cubans from different provinces use clandestine Wi-Fi networks to satisfy their craving for online gaming, catch up on videos from their favorite artists, the latest movies, and even to buy and sell without the use of credit cards.
Walter Clavel from Santiago, knows of the existence of such networks in his province, “although sometimes you don’t see them during the day, but late at night they are there."
"Music, games and pirated software are what circulate most among these friends who agree to connect their computers," says Clavel.
But how do they trade on these networks?
In Santiago de Cuba, a kind of group email has been has created where “each person adds what they want to sell to the list.” They also leave a contact phone number in order to contact the owner of the “car, house or computer,” which are the three things most actively sold by this method.
In Havana, Lilian Ruiz visited some friends in the “Parque Lenin” or Lenin Park with whom she communicated by a “cable on the entire block.” In some cases to avoid detection by the police or curious eyes, the cables are underground.
Independent journalist Yuri Lázaro Valle Roca states that this type of phenomenon is most palpable in "neighborhoods with greater purchasing power, " primarily in Miramar and Vedado.
According to Valle, in the province of Lawton, “there’s a very popular Wi-Fi network named ‘The Animal,’ but it has its pros and cons." While young people only, “use it to play games and share information of every type, State Security does it to get to the computers and see what's inside them," he concludes.
According Camilo Ernesto Olivera, a journalist with Cubanet, clandestine Wi-Fi networks began to be persecuted in Cuba after the Arab Spring.
At the time when Arab governments stopped cell phone and Internet service, "people used Wi-Fi to stay informed and mobilize.” After they realized the power this gave people, Cuba began assessing fines and confiscating equipment.
The expelled university student Reynier Aguero asserts that with simply constructed homemade antennas, one can get Wi-Fi "to a mile away.”
A recent article by the blogger Yoani Sánchez indicates that among the ten most popular Android apps in Cuba is the WiFi Hacker, a tool for hacking Wi-Fi networks and to make use of access to the web without cost.
This February, the American NGO Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF) announced that by June 2015, it aims to provide free connection worldwide through its Outernet project.
Walter Clavel from Santiago, knows of the existence of such networks in his province, “although sometimes you don’t see them during the day, but late at night they are there."
"Music, games and pirated software are what circulate most among these friends who agree to connect their computers," says Clavel.
But how do they trade on these networks?
In Santiago de Cuba, a kind of group email has been has created where “each person adds what they want to sell to the list.” They also leave a contact phone number in order to contact the owner of the “car, house or computer,” which are the three things most actively sold by this method.
In Havana, Lilian Ruiz visited some friends in the “Parque Lenin” or Lenin Park with whom she communicated by a “cable on the entire block.” In some cases to avoid detection by the police or curious eyes, the cables are underground.
Independent journalist Yuri Lázaro Valle Roca states that this type of phenomenon is most palpable in "neighborhoods with greater purchasing power, " primarily in Miramar and Vedado.
According to Valle, in the province of Lawton, “there’s a very popular Wi-Fi network named ‘The Animal,’ but it has its pros and cons." While young people only, “use it to play games and share information of every type, State Security does it to get to the computers and see what's inside them," he concludes.
According Camilo Ernesto Olivera, a journalist with Cubanet, clandestine Wi-Fi networks began to be persecuted in Cuba after the Arab Spring.
At the time when Arab governments stopped cell phone and Internet service, "people used Wi-Fi to stay informed and mobilize.” After they realized the power this gave people, Cuba began assessing fines and confiscating equipment.
The expelled university student Reynier Aguero asserts that with simply constructed homemade antennas, one can get Wi-Fi "to a mile away.”
A recent article by the blogger Yoani Sánchez indicates that among the ten most popular Android apps in Cuba is the WiFi Hacker, a tool for hacking Wi-Fi networks and to make use of access to the web without cost.
This February, the American NGO Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF) announced that by June 2015, it aims to provide free connection worldwide through its Outernet project.
