Telecommunication
Infrastructure
Liberalization
and Deregulation
Analysis: IT Strengths and Weaknesses
Analysis: Impacts on the Business
Information Technology in Cuba
Cuba is the Caribbean's largest and least commercialized island and one of the world's last bastions of communism. The island's relative political isolation has prevented it from being overrun by tourists, and locals are sincerely friendly to those who do visit.
| Full country name: | Republic of Cuba |
| Area: | 110,860 sq km |
| Population: | 11 million |
| Capital city: | Havana (pop 2,200,000) |
| People: | 60% Spanish descent, 22% mulatto, 11% African descent, 1% Chinese |
| Language: | Spanish |
| Religion: | 47% Catholic, 4% Protestant, 2% Santerķa (many Catholics also practice Santerķa) |
| Government: | Communist Republic |
| Head of State: | Fidel Castro |
| GDP: | US$20 billion |
| GDP per head: | US$2000 |
| Annual growth: | 2.5% |
| Major industries: | Sugar, minerals, tobacco, agricultural, medicine & tourism |
| Major trading partners: | Western Europe, Latin America, Russia, China, Iran & North Korea |
Source: Lonely Planet (56).
IT Overview
Cuba's international telecommunication infrastructure is in better condition and better able to meet current and future demand than their internal infrastructure, although that is also improving. Demand for telecommunication is rising in spite of the economic effects of the loss of Eastern Europe and the embargo. Key industries which generate hard currency (tourism and biotechnology) require communication, and their requirements are being slowly funded.
In an effort to improve telecommunications in Cuba, a committee regulating the policy on global information networks has been formed and an Internet plan formulated. Increased foreign investment in Cuban telecommunication can be expected. In spite of the political risks, Castro sees that modern communication and computer networks are necessary for the economy and is willing to open new doors in order to make this possible.
This report was completed in December 2000 for the class Impacts of National Information Technology Environments on Business given by Professor Carmel in the program of Management Of Global Information Technology at the Kogod School of Business at American University in Washington D.C.