Cuba To Offer Public Internet At Cyber Cafes Across Island; Home Access Still Restricted

Beginning on June 4, Cubans can register with the state telecom Etecsa in order to be allowed temporary or permanent accounts allowing Internet access at one of the 118 salons across the country.

Cuba has one of the world's most restrictive government policies regarding Internet access for citizens. The people of Cuban still do not have Internet access at home. The price placed per hour of Internet use at one of the salons also inhibits some citizens from Internet access.

According to Boston.com, Cuban public Internet access has been limited to places like schools and tourist hotels, which charge $8 an hour for slow Internet service.

The Associated Press says that only 2.9 percent of Cubans had access to the Internet. Sixteen percent could go partway online using domestic Internet and email access at work or school.

"Great I knew this was coming," said Camila Delgado via Boston.com. "There's still a ways to go to be like everywhere else on the planet. We don't have access at home and prices are prohibitive."

Not everyone in Cuba is as excited as Delgado about the public Internet.

"It's a real bargain," said a commmentor with the username Osvaldo Ullao sarcastically on Cuba Si, Boston.com says. "I mean I work for a week and then I can get online for an hour-fabulous."

Internet access is a hot button and political issue in Cuba. Critics of the Internet restrictions say that it infringes on the freedom of citizens. According to the AP, government officials say "Cuba has the obligation to prioritize its limited capacity for things that benefit the public good."