ETECSA will not reverse the rate increase and is preparing "consolation" measures with Nauta Hogar, according to an internal company leak.
The company will maintain high prices while trying to quell protests with a service that few can use due to power outages and technical issues.
A decision that comes "from above"
According to an internal source cited by journalist Mario J. Pentón, ETECSA has no intention of reversing the price increase applied to its mobile services and international top-ups. The decision, he explained, is neither technical nor commercial, but rather a "national measure" supported by the highest echelons of power in Cuba.
This includes the permanence of the international recharge in dollars and the limit of 360 CUP for domestic top-ups, a decision that primarily affects those who do not receive remittances or have access to foreign currency.
Nauta Hogar, the “consolation prize”
In response to popular discontent, ETECSA is reportedly preparing a new version of the Nauta Hogar service. This was announced by Commercial Vice President Lidia Esther Hidalgo, who stated on the Roundtable that an "optional" offer will be launched in the summer to adapt to different consumer profiles.
However, far from being a solution, many see it as an empty gesture. In practice, Nauta Hogar only works in homes with stable ADSL infrastructure, something uncommon in Cuba, where daily power outages and technical obsolescence are commonplace.
“It’s another patch for a reality that’s falling apart,” Pentón summed up.
Service inaccessible to most
Even before the rate increase, Nauta Hogar was one of the services most questioned by users. Limited hourly plans, a cost above the average wage, and the inability to connect during power outages have made it an unviable option for thousands of Cuban families.
The supposed “flexibility” of the service does not alleviate the situation: “It’s like giving a bicycle to someone who doesn’t have legs.”, opined one Internet user on social media.
Rate in dollars, salary in pesos
The tariff increase has worsened digital exclusion in Cuba. Only those who receive remittances in hard currency can purchase data packages in dollars, while the rest must settle for minimal plans in dollars. CUP, which run out quickly or are not even enough to check an email.
This has created an even deeper social divide: Internet access is increasingly dependent on foreign currency income., and not from personal effort or state work.
Protests in the university sector
The outrage hasn't only been felt on social media. University students in Havana and other provinces have publicly expressed their opposition to the rate hike, believing it limits their access to academic platforms, study materials, and extracurricular activities.
Faced with this, ETECSA has not offered real solutions or differentiated rates for vulnerable sectors.
What to expect from the new measures?
The announced "new modality" remains without concrete details. No information has been given on the price or whether it will be available in local currency or foreign currency. Meanwhile, Cubans continue to pay international rates with local salaries.
"Some fill up the available hours, others don't. We're going to offer a deal that we think is quite interesting.", Hidalgo said without providing figures or dates.
An unpopular policy with no reverse
ETECSA insists on justifying the rate increase as a necessity to sustain its operations. But far from generating empathy, the measure has reinforced the image of a state-owned company that is deaf to citizens' demands and increasingly distant from its supposed social role.
Neither "optional offers" nor justifications on television have calmed the outrage. In the streets, homes, and classrooms, discontent is connected without internet.
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16 comments
Little by little they are falling, the axis of evil is doomed, soon Iran, then some other: Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, North Korea...
If you do something with the Nauta Home, nothing will be resolved because very few of us can have it, and with the scandals you are giving us, even less. Don't spread more lies because the people are getting tired and there will be no one to stop it because, according to you, there are human rights in Cuba.
Hopefully the next thing will be electricity for those who live on circuits where the power doesn't go out.
Only 10% of those with landline telephone service have Natura Hogar. So even if I have landline telephone service and can afford to pay Etecsa's high rates, I have to continue accepting what I owe on the payroll. If they don't even have the means to provide one service, what are we talking about?
ETECSA cannot reverse its absurd measures because doing so would impact their living standards.
The new measures are truly abusive and not at all designed for Cubans. In fact, they were so ill-intentioned that they didn't even give any warning so there wouldn't be protests or lawsuits. Furthermore, the prices and regulations imposed never benefit their customers. In Cuba, everything is a monopoly that favors foreigners, while Cubans are worthless. Now I'm wondering, and I'd like to know! I don't have Nauta Hogar, what good is this promised relief (because they never deliver). I'll live in the same daily hell of figuring out how to connect and watch my favorite episodes on the vast network of networks. Ahh, now it's a luxury that only foreigners can afford, of course, like everything else here!
It's a lie about NAUTAHOGAR; they haven't installed and won't install new telephone services.
And those who don't have a landline, of course, don't have a home and even fewer opportunities.
He who does not have a Nauta home, what??????
It was known that ETECSA was not going to back down, because that came from the government, Mr. Marrero, and Finance and Price to give legality to the measure, because I say the presidency of ETECSA gives you the document and tells you to defend it before the population no matter what happens and that's it, but since everything is imposed here, there is no other option. The only satisfaction is that they won but they did not convince because it is illogical, the first 6 gig is not enough and the extra plan is a lack of respect, but you command and impose and obey for better or worse.
Thank you, have a nice day
I think ETECSA will have to back down because from outside they will boycott all the refills and it will be left without money.
ETECSA is a capitalist company that wants to solve its problems by raising prices for the Cuban people and for the families of Cubans living abroad. What the hell is the government for? They'll probably want to do the same with electricity. We'll see.
And what will retirees with a salary of $1500 do?
The biggest problem I see with this Etecsa thing now is that measures are constantly being taken regarding something that affects the people, but I don't see much of anything being resolved afterward, since life for the majority of Cubans is getting worse every day, so I don't understand the rationale for any of the measures.
Greetings.
Because the population living in Cuba isn't important. Only those living abroad are taken into account. We all know that the problem caused by ETECSA isn't going to be reversed, but it's not going to improve either. Let's wait until May 30, 2026.
It's a shame. All those leaders should be ashamed. Their children are studying at universities abroad, living the lives we all dream of. And they don't even deign to do something that benefits the people, just once. At least I'll have faith that one day they'll pay for everything they've done. Because as long as there's time, another Camilo can rise. And from life experience, I hope this one doesn't get lost in the sea. Because history would absolve him of whoever was lost.