Periodismo de Barrio has edited a collection of 13 articles on the Cuban Internet in collaboration with the Internet Policy Observatory at the University of Pennsylvania. The articles cover the history of the Cuban Internet, the legal framework, services, communities, and projects. It is a diverse collection—something for everyone.

Here are thumbnail summaries of each article:

• ¿Puede Estados Unidos conectar a Internet a los cubanos? – Elaine Díaz Rodríguez (A critical look at US efforts to enhance Cuban connectivity, from the Clinton administration through the recent formation of the Cuban Internet Task Force by Trump)
• La ruta de Internet en Cuba – Anidelys Rodríguez Brito (A survey of Cuban networking from the pre-Internet days through today’s 3G, home DSL, and public access points.)
• Internet en Cuba: ¿limitada por la política o la economía? – Eloy Viera Cañive (A survey of the political and economic factors that curb Cuban access and content.)
• Quién eres, ETECSA? – Mabel Olalde Azpiri (A history of ETECSA and its role in serving Infomed and other networks as well as the general public.)
• Variaciones sobre la wifi – Lianet Fleites (A portrait of WiFi hotspot users and uses.)
• Te quiero, mi sangre – Geisy Guia Delis (People connecting with expatriate family members.)
• Nauta Hogar: nueva herramienta para emprendedores cubanos – Julio Batista Rodríguez (Nauta Hogar: a new tool for Cuban entrepreneurs.)
• El color verde en la palabra Sígueme – Jesús Jank Curbelo (A look at Sígueme, the SNET “Facebook” application)
• Se venden héroes a diez pesos – Carlos Melián (Kids playing multiplayer online games.)
• Tecnología y cambio social en Cuba: en busca de hipervínculos – Mónica Baró Sánchez (An interview of Yohana Lezcano Lavandera, who advocates computer literacy education.)
• El Callejón de los Milagros – Rogelio Serrano (An interview with professor and researcher Juan Antonio García Borrero about his project The Alley of the Mircales.)
• Ocho aplicaciones contra la desconexión – Mónica Baró Sánchez (Descriptions of eight mobile phone apps that can be used offline.)
• ¿Qué podría hacer el gobierno cubano en el escenario virtual? – Jessica Domínguez Delgado (Potential e-government applicatioins in Cuba)

Perhaps the most outstanding feature of this collection is not any one of the articles, but the fact that they were pulled together and edited as an innovative online “dossier”—an anthology of articles on the Internet in Cuba.

Finally, the editor, Elaine Díaz Rodríguez. asked me for feedback on her opening contribution ¿Puede Estados Unidos conectar a Internet a los cubanos? and I might as well share my comments.

Elaine covered several US efforts to influence the Cuban Internet, most recently Trump’s Cuban Internet Task Force. I’ve written a couple of posts on the Task Force, which I see as a political act. That being said, the Task Force participant’s hearts are in the right place for the most part and we can hope that genuine aid and investment might be possible in the future if Trump is defeated and Diaz-Canel adopts Internet-friendly policies.

Elaine also drilled down on the Alan Gross fiasco. I’ve written many posts about Alan Gross, including several on what he actually did, how little difference he would have made had he succeeded and how much the Cubans overstated the impact it would have had.

I agree with Elaine that nothing happened as a result of President Obama’s trip to Cuba. That being said, Google has worked diligently, before and after President Obama’s trip, to establish relationships in Cuba. The only concrete result has been their caching server (GCC) in Cuba, but the relationships they have built may pay off in the long run. (GCC has resulted in a noticeable increase in YouTube traffic relative to Facebook).

I’ve also written posts on La ruta de Internet en Cuba—including one on the initial Cuban Internet connection over a link provided by Sprint with a subsidy from the US National Science Foundation and several on pre-Internet networking in Cuba.

I’ve speculated on the question raised in the essay Internet en Cuba: ¿limitada por la política o la economía?. From the early days of the Internet, it has been both the economy and politics, but I would add vested interests and bureaucracy today.

Another post asks ¿Quién eres, Etecsa?, a question I’ve also asked, but can’t answer.

The post Te quiero, mi sangre shows WiFi hotspots being used to communicate emotion and presence, in the tradition of the pioneering Hole in Space performance art project.

I’ve also looked at Nauta Hogar, and, while I agree that it is useful for some tech and other small businesses, it is a dead end on the road to home connectivity.

Update May 31, 2018:

Periodismo de Barrio is also experimenting with short video documentaries about the Cuban Internet. Here are links to their first five videos:

• Episodio 1: Amor en la wifi Using WiFi hotspots to find friendship and sex
• Episodio 2: Redes underground Users describe Havana’s community network, SNET
• Episodio 3: Airbnb en casa Using the Internet to drive Airbnb occupancy
• Episodio 4: De canales y youtubers Clips of young Cuban YouTubers
• Episodio 5: El distribuidor musical Distributing music on El Paquete