A new measure by the Cuban Telecommunications Company has once again placed the state-owned company at the center of national debate.
Announced this Thursday and effective immediately, the proposal has generated a wave of comments that continue to multiply on social media.
Many expected a reversal after the harsh criticism of recent trade policies. But what was ultimately presented as a new measure has sparked even more anger among users, who describe the decision as insufficient and disconnected from the country's reality.
The state-owned telecommunications company launched an additional plan this Thursday, offering only 2 GB for 1,200 Cuban pesos. The reaction online was immediate.
A proposal that does not convince
ETECSA presented two new commercial offers that will go into effect on June 20. One of them, aimed at the general public, offers 2 GB for 1,200 CUPThe other, exclusive for university students, includes 6 GB for 360 CUP.
According to company executives, the measure seeks to respond to the demands of social sectors asking for a more economical alternative. But far from providing relief, the proposal sparked criticism on social media, where more than a thousand comments expressed outright rejection.
“This was the best they could come up with.”
In a report broadcast on state television, Yusmani Rojas Pérez, deputy director of ETECSA's commercial vice-presidency, explained that "we have managed to find a compromise... that's what we can define at this time."
The new package can be purchased once every 30 days, will be valid for 35 days, and will be available through Transfermóvil and Online Services. It won't be deducted from the main balance, but it's not an effective solution for many users. "It doesn't cover real needs," the company itself acknowledged.
On Facebook, comments quickly hit the nail on the head: "Was this the best they could come up with after all the discontent?" one user asked. Another wrote: "If they're so incompetent, let new telecommunications companies enter Cuba."
Indignation also comes with poetry
Among the most forceful criticisms was that of poet and improvisational artist Alex Díaz Jr., who stated: “Disgusting and shameful. Trying to survive at the expense of those who have nothing is the lowest of lows. Popular discontent is enormous, but political rhetoric wins, as always.”
Liz Díaz Montero, another user, joked about the plan's affordability for retirees: "Great! My retired grandmother can afford it with her $1500 monthly pesos. She'll be able to buy the $360 pesos first, and then this new one... of course, I'd have to give her something, because she'd be short $60 pesos. She won't be able to eat, but thanks for thinking of everyone."
A company that is notcucha
ETECSA argued that the new plan stems from the "maximum possible effort" in the current context, but its decision only increased the perception of disconnection from the population's real needs.
The offer for university students — 6 GB for 360 CUP—will be available only to those who own the mobile line in their name. The company stated that it is working with universities to update this information.
At the same time, executives announced that, thanks to the increased revenue from previous measures, some suspended services, such as alternative landline telephony and Nauta Hogar, could be resumed.
More controls and warnings
During the official program We make CubaSpokesperson Humberto López described the sale of mobile phone credit between citizens as "unacceptable." He stated that this practice will be penalized and denounced an alleged scam network linked to the fraudulent use of ETECSA services, with alleged international ties.
A warning was also issued regarding international top-ups made outside of official channels, stating that they could be considered acts of sabotage.
Meanwhile, internet access remains an unattainable luxury for many Cubans.
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13 comments
I'm speechless about ETECSA's measures. PLEASE RESPECT A PEOPLE TIRED AND EXHAUSTED BY EVERYTHING. THAT'S UNFAIR.
Speechless😱 It's absurd to pay for those internet packages with ETECSA's measures. 2GB, THEY KNOW IT'S NOTHING, MY GOD. 1200 PLEASE, GENTLEMEN, STOP RESPECTING A PEOPLE WHO ARE EXHAUSTED AND TIRED OF EVERYTHING. THAT RATE IS USELESS.
I don't know how it's possible that a government of the people and for the people would allow something like this from a state-owned company, specifically one that's supposedly meant to serve the interests of the people.
It is a ridiculous and abusive proposal
As always, ETECSA, a private company of the corrupt, thieving elite, uses the money to maintain its luxuries and its children in other countries at the expense of Cuban fools. Until when? Take to the streets to tear down all this shit.
It's disrespectful to the people, to those people they claim to defend so much. There's no salary that supports ETECSA's rates. Sorry, I added, not all people have the salary and the opportunities of those who set ETECSA's new rates, but that doesn't matter, because those people who don't have the right to communication or information also don't have the right to a salary that allows them to live with dignity without going hungry. ETECSA is nothing more than part of the mechanism to enrich some. And now I ask myself, what do those who were tricked in the 90s for having dollars feel? How does your government explain to me that today you value the dollar more than your country's own currency? Because by taking away my right to top up from my national currency card and prioritizing international top-ups, you're throwing away your own currency. Do you want to raise money? And what have you done with all the money you've raised? You should be ashamed to say that this measure is to raise money. You should be ashamed to live at the expense of the people.
speechless 🤐
Greetings, it seems that ETECSA and the government behind it all ignore what the people are asking for. They only want the dollars that they criticized so much and that they were going to punish. Look how we are, that is the only thing that interests them and they want to force us and our families to recharge from abroad. In my case, I have my three children abroad and I do not allow them to recharge even the minimum amount. If they want, they should settle for the cup which is the national currency.
I work in a ministry, I earn 5400 a month, with two school-age children, one in pre-school and the other in secondary school, and I link them to my data because they need to interact too and they don't work, that is, my 360 package is used by 3 people, if I buy a 1200 package that I have left, a worker with that salary does not have access to a mobile phone, much less buy a package, workers like me will never be able to improve, because the use of ICT is necessary in these times.
Good evening, it is worth highlighting that no one is immune to Cuba's economic problems. But when we try to establish new measures, the alternatives are premises and therefore it is the people who should know what is most accepted for the situation, I do not enter into a debate about which one to apply but if it is a decision as simple as what just happened, I do not understand why 🤷 I see the new ectesa plan so far from today's reality and without any logical benefit for the average Cuban, in short, where is the Cuban vote and their legal rights against the violation of the rights of the client that range from the sim card to respect for privacy and deadlines in defense of the client in relation to any change or transformation of the initial contract and who can clarify how it is correct to inform the solution and not who supports the rights of the client, to cite an example (THE SUPPLY BOOK, SPEAKS OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CONSUMER. AND WHEN YOU ACQUIRE A HIGH VALUE PRODUCT YOU HAVE A REGULATION THAT MUST BE COMPLIED WITH AND IN CASE THAT ONE OF THE PARTIES VIOLATES SAID CONTRACT LOSES THE RIGHT TO CLAIM) and so right now I am wondering what right we have right now as ectesa customers since they alone made a decision without due compliance with the contract.
Abusive at 600 pesos per GB that only affects the people, but of course the daughter of the director of ETECSA needs tens of thousands of Euros for her luxuries
ETECSA, the most incompetent telephone company in the world
What they should do is install Wi-Fi at home and mobile data on the street, and charge a fee, just like electricity and water, a monthly fee based on the customer's spending.