Ordinary Cubans will from tomorrow get internet access on their mobile phones for the first time - although few may be able to afford it.
In a statement on TV last night, Mayra Arevich, president of the Cuban state telecom firm ETECSA, said that services would be rolled out over the next three days.
In a statement on its website, ETECSA says that users with phones that can support 3G technology in the 900MHz frequency band and who have previously used data services will automatically be notified about when they can sign up.
Until recently, access to the internet in Cuba was severely limited, with coverage largely limited to tourist hotels. In 2013, the government opened a series of internet cafes, with wifi hot-spots starting to appear a couple of years later. Fixed connections have been available for about a year, but mobile phone users have only had access to email, rather than full internet service.
However, over the last couple of years, the government has been building a 3G network across the island. In July, it expanded the service beyond a handful of government officials and businesspeople to give access to journalists at state-run news providers and, in August, it carried out a nine-hour test in which phone users across the country gained internet access for the first time.
On that occasion, the connection was reported to be extremely slow, and users weren't able to do much more than post on Twitter. Indeed, many found that they weren't able to make calls or send and receive texts during the test.
To make things run more smoothly this time, the government is rolling out the service to different groups of users over the 6th, 7th and 8th of December. All the same, ETECSA warns, "In the first days of operation of this service, incidents could be experienced in certain areas or areas.".
And, of course, the service will only be available to those who can pay for it. The price - with packages ranging from 600MB for about $7 or 4GB for about $30 - will be well out of range for most people, with average salaries only around $30 a month.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who succeeded Raul Castro in April, opened a Twitter account in October, and has said he wants to see greater connectivity across the island.
Last year, according to Statista, there were about 4.6 million mobile phone subscribers in Cuba. Through the new service, they will be able to access the full internet - with the exception of one or two US-funded anti-communist websites, which will remain blocked.
