Cuba sets up free internet for Havana residents in pilot scheme

Downtown Havana resident Margarita Marquez says she received a special Christmas gift this year: web access at home, a rarity in Cuba, a country with one of the lowest internet penetration rates in the world. Ms Marquez, a 67-year-old retired university professor, was among those selected by the government two weeks ago to participate in a pilot project bringing the web into the homes of 2,000 inhabitants of the historic centre of the island's capital. Most of Communist-ruled Cuba's 11.2 million inhabitants only have access to internet at wi-fi hotspots, and only then if they can afford the 80p hourly tariff that represents around five per cent of the average monthly state salary. Only five per cent of Cubans are estimated to enjoy internet at home, which requires government permission. This is usually granted mainly to academics, doctors and intellectuals.