ETECSA admits dependence on emigrated Cubans to maintain its services

The executive president of the Cuban Telecommunications Company (ETECSA), Tania Velázquez Rodríguez, publicly acknowledged that the operational sustainability of telecommunications services on the Island almost entirely depends on the money provided by Cuban emigrants through international top-ups.

During his appearance on the official program Mesa Redonda, Velázquez explained that these revenues have been essential for financing everything from the acquisition of technology to the connectivity of state institutions.

According to their statements, the top-ups sent from abroad "have been working for over 15 years" and represent "80% of the international revenue" that the company receives.

He added that this is a widespread practice around the world, but in the case of Cuba, it has taken on a vital dimension: “The services that today somehow consume these high capabilities... we need to find sources for their recovery,” he said.

Thanks to this mechanism, it has been possible to finance connectivity projects, maintain the public telephone network, and make payments to suppliers.

However, this economic dependence comes at a time when ETECSA has also been repeatedly pointed out for its collaboration with the repressive mechanisms of the regime.

The company has cut off internet access during protests, censored critical media and platforms, and has been used to track citizens' posts, resulting in fines or threats.

In that sense, the money sent by the Cuban exile community, often in opposition to the regime, paradoxically ends up also financing censorship and control.

Velázquez indicated that the increase in top-ups during the COVID-19 period gave a boost to structural projects, allowing ETECSA to maintain its services and even plan for new investments.

"We had a significant boost that allowed us to pay our creditors, the technology suppliers, and to announce new projects on time," he stated.

But that projection can no longer be upheld: starting in 2021, he stated, a "turning point" occurred due to phenomena that impacted the flow of foreign income.

That year, unofficial platforms began to proliferate, offering apparent top-ups from countries like Spain or the United States, but which "kidnap the flows" of money and convert them into Cuban pesos within the country, the regime official stated.

"That money stays there; it never reaches the company," he stated, adding that this phenomenon has "affected" revenues despite the steady growth of internet traffic.

"The more the traffic increased, the more we needed to spend, but the income wasn't coming through our official channels," he emphasized, highlighting on one hand the lack of liquidity of the regime's monopoly, while on the other, showing the desperation to fill the coffers by any means necessary.

In his speech, it is clear that the strategy continues to focus on appealing for external funding, without transparent mechanisms or guarantees of quality services.

Meanwhile, ETECSA continues to be a tool of the regime to exercise control over information and the citizenry, which means that those who send money from abroad, with the intention of helping their family members, are also, knowingly or not, supporting a system that restricts rights and freedoms within the Island.

The recent rate hike by ETECSA has sparked a strong wave of criticism among Cubans living abroad, who argue that the new policy not only restricts access to the internet in Cuba but also places a direct burden on emigrants, who have become the economic backbone of the system.

From the United States, user @anay.armenteros.a, known as “La Bandida,” posted a video in which she expressed her frustration about the emotional and financial impact of this measure. “They are putting more pressure on us, because the government wants dollars at all costs, it wants to live off of us, those of us who are here,” she said.

The measure, which many view as an act of social exclusion and a form of economic blackmail, has also been harshly criticized by citizens on the Island.

"I will not accept that they put a single peso in my name to ETECSA. I don't want any top-ups. I want ETECSA to starve, even if I never use a cellphone again," stated lawyer Manuel Viera on Facebook.

The new rates imposed by ETECSA have been widely criticized on social media, especially by young people and students, who have reported that the prices are not in line with the low average incomes in the country.

In this regard, the regime, to ease some of the criticism, announced this Monday that university students will have the option to purchase a second mobile data package of 6 GB, in addition to the one they can already buy with the 360 CUP allocated monthly for national recharges. In total, this group will have access to 12 GB per month at a cost of 720 CUP.

However, the University Student Federation (FEU) and the Union of Young Communists (UJC) of the José Antonio Echeverría Technological University (CUJAE) strongly condemned these new provisions from ETECSA this Tuesday.

In an official joint statement issued on June 3, the FEU Council and the UJC Committee not only requested alternative solutions to those offered, but also demanded more respect from ETECSA towards the people.

In the midst of this wave of criticism, a journalistic investigation emerged revealing a fact that directly challenges the official narrative of Cuba's state telecommunications monopoly, which claims to be operating at a loss to justify the drastic increase in its rates.

According to Miami Herald this Monday, RAFIN S.A., one of the main shareholders of the state-owned company controlled by the military of the Cuban regime, had over 407 million dollars in cash in August 2024.

Frequently asked questions about ETECSA's dependence on international top-ups and its impact on Cuba