President of ETECSA announces new appearance on the Round Table on Monday

The executive president of the Cuban Telecommunications Company (ETECSA), Tania Velázquez Rodríguez, has announced a new appearance on the Round Table discussion next Monday to address the company's recent measures.

The decision to limit the balance in national currency to prioritize the use of foreign currency has brought numerous criticisms on social media and a negative public sentiment throughout the country, which compelled the leadership to appear on national television on Saturday.

"We hope, for example, that during our intervention in the Round Table on Monday, we might be able to provide a bit more detail on this," he said, referring to the connectivity alternatives that will be applied to university students and other sectors that rely on Internet access for their academic and professional performance.

In addition, he added: "We will be providing more information in all the spaces we can about the implementation of the measure. There are still many questions."

The president justified the recent rate hike by the need to inject foreign currency as "ETECSA's systems are in a critical situation" and the company is in debt.

"We are facing debts that we cannot pay, which means we cannot import more technology, we cannot import supplies, we cannot buy abroad, the things we need to continue," he detailed.

"We're not even talking about development; we're talking about sustaining the services we currently have," he added.

Velázquez Rodríguez revealed that ETECSA has lost more than 60% of its revenue from abroad due to fraud related to international top-ups.

According to him, many users purchase recharges through unauthorized platforms, whose payments are held up abroad, while the balances are credited in Cuban pesos within the country.

On the other hand, the official admitted that the company did not communicate adequately or in a timely manner about the restrictions imposed on mobile top-ups in CUP, which led to a wave of criticism online and significant public discontent.

"We lacked tools, we lacked more effective mechanisms to address all this information," he admitted.

However, the real reason for announcing the restrictions all at once was, as Velázquez should have acknowledged, related to the potential collapse of the digital platforms due to a surge in top-ups, which would have worsened ETECSA's already precarious technological situation.

It was not possible to provide a measure in advance that would cause anxiety, it was going to lead to a series of actions that would impact our system. (...). Of course, people were going to reload their balances intensively, and that, of course, would mean that with the influx, it could affect the failure of some platforms," he explained.

These statements come in a context of increasing distrust towards ETECSA and the Cuban government, whose measures exacerbate inequality in access to essential services such as the internet.

The population does not expect Monday's appearance to provide effective solutions to the issues raised, especially after Velázquez Rodríguez stated that there would be no turning back.

The new restrictions from ETECSA marginalize Cubans who do not receive remittances and favor payments in foreign currency. The new dollar plans offer 4 GB for 10 USD or 16 GB for 35 USD, while national packages, for example, cost 3 GB for 3,360 CUP, an amount that exceeds the monthly minimum wage.

Cubans have expressed their frustration on social media, comparing the situation to a form of exclusion similar to the shortage of basic products.

For many, it is a legalized scam and a direct assault on the Cuban people, who have witnessed how access to the Internet and mobile phone services has become increasingly expensive and inaccessible.

Frequently Asked Questions about ETECSA's New Measures in Cuba