Cuba limits Internet access

Sunday, January 11, 2004

HAVANA, Cuba: A new law has been passed in Cuba that will make access to the Internet more difficult for Cubans. 

According to a BBC report, only those authorised to use the Internet from home, such as government employees and doctors, will be able to do so on a regular telephone line. 

The state phone company Etecsa will use technical means to detect and impede access. 

Correspondents say the law will affect thousands of Cubans who access the worldwide web from their homes. 

It will take effect on Saturday, according to a letter sent by Etecsa Internet service E-net on Friday to customers. 

The government says the move is necessary to "regulate dial-up access to internet navigation services, adopting measures that help protect against the taking of passwords, malicious acts, and the fraudulent and unauthorised use of this service". 

The Cuban Government passed a decree last year that the internet could only be accessed using a more expensive telephone service charged in US dollars, not generally available to ordinary Cubans. 

E-net customers who do not have the dollar phone service can still access the Internet legally by buying special cards at Etecsa offices. 

Some also can use international email and a government- controlled intranet at work. 

But until now many people have been using computers and internet accounts borrowed or bought on the black market, and it is they who will be affected by the new law.  

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