While millions of Cubans struggle daily with an internet connection that ranges from slow to non-existent, the publisher ETECSA had a brilliant idea this Saturday: to present children's books aimed at teaching kids about the wonderful world of telecommunications. The Cuban Institute of the Book and Ediciones Conexión presented three titles yesterday at the "Saturday of the Book" event in Havana: "De teléfonos te hablamos" by Lucía C. Sanz Araujo; "Tonito. La historieta" by Alexis Gutiérrez Gelabert; and "Tonito. Suplemento técnico para niños," volume 2026.
The presentation was led by Grisel Ojeda, director of Ediciones Conexión —the scientific-technical publisher affiliated with the state telecommunications monopoly—, alongside the author Alexis Gutiérrez Gelabert and editors Mirta Ulloa and Inés María León Martínez.
Ojeda explained with complete seriousness that the goal is to "guide and instruct the youngest about the history of telecommunications and computing in Cuba." The editors, for their part, agreed that the titles aim to "bring the complex world of telephony closer to children with a friendly language and a dynamic approach."
How generous of ETECSA: to teach children about telephony in a country where adults cannot afford to pay for the service. A 15 GB plan costs up to 11,760 Cuban pesos, which is several times the minimum monthly salary. Since May 2025, the company has also limited monthly top-ups in pesos to 360 CUP and expanded plans in dollars, deepening the digital exclusion of the majority of the population.
Moreover, starting January 29, 2026, ETECSA will charge up to 3 dollars per minute for international roaming calls, one dollar for SMS, and another dollar for each megabyte of data. Connecting with the outside world from Cuba has become a luxury reserved for very few.
As for speed, Cuba ranked 153rd in the global Speedtest ranking for fixed broadband in April 2026, with only 3.04 Mbps recorded in January 2025. For the children reading "Tonito" to one day experience the internet that books talk about, they will have to wait decades or emigrate.
When the service fails —which is almost always— ETECSA has an inexhaustible repertoire of excuses. In October 2025, it blamed the "atmospheric duct" for the connection drops, an explanation that led to widespread mockery. Previously, in April 2025, it pointed to illegal antennas and unapproved repeaters, warning that 6% of the cells in the country were critically interfered with and that Havana accounted for 12% of external interference. The chronic electrical crisis further exacerbates communications, as the company's backup batteries only sustain service for a few hours during a power outage.
But the most revealing episode of what ETECSA really is occurred on July 11, 2021, when the company cut off internet access throughout Cuba while the people took to the streets to protest. An operator from the company itself acknowledged that the interruption "was decided by the highest leadership of the country." NetBlocks and Access Now documented the simultaneous blocking of WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram. Now that's truly "bringing the complex world of telecommunications" closer to the population: turning off the switch when people need it the most.
This practice of selective disconnection has been applied impunely by the company, according to reports from opponents, activists, and critical intellectual voices against the regime.
The state telecommunications monopoly raised millions of dollars following the unjustified rate hike of 2025, without this translating —as publicly promised— into better connectivity or service stability, which has increased frustration and distrust among users.
Ediciones Conexión participated for the first time in the Havana International Book Fair in February 2025, and the supplement "Tonito" has already been published for a decade. Ten years educating Cuban children about telecommunications while the company funding these books keeps them among the worst connected in the world. The irony speaks for itself.
Filed under: