The Collapse of ETECSA

The Collapse of ETECSA / Lourdes Gomez
Posted on May 9, 2014

"The mobile phone you are calling is turned off or is out of the
coverage area," is the response Cuban mobile phone users commonly
receive these days. As a result of the cellular blackout and lack of
official information, rumors run rampant. All the blame has fallen on
the Nauta email system, for taking over the lines.

Finally, on Thursday, April 24, on the national TV news, Hilda Maria
Arias, the director of mobile services of ETECSA, the only Cuban
telephone company, said: "The problem that most people have encountered
is access to the base stations, which is the component of the mobile
network closest to the user, through which the signal passes; and data
transfers are consuming more resources of that network."

The Cuban mobile phone system is the world's most expensive, and users
have no guarantee of receiving services: the monopoly on communication
promotes the imposition of abusive prices but does not guarantee anything.

"You send an SMS and arrives the next day, it seems that ETECSA
misjudged the mails and now we're paying the consequences," says Pedro
Ramirez, a 34-year-old craftsman. "Most Cubans don't have a landline,
this service is essential even if its only texting and ringing."

It certainly seems that they did not expect such a large influx into
Nauta mail, opened on March 3: "100,000 new customers have come just for
Nauta mail since the service opened, and we are talking about nearly
one-third of what we envisioned for the entire year, "said the official.
"For more than a year we studied and implemented the processes of needed
investments, but did not calculate the fast pace of demand in the short
time in which it showed up."

Not only was the technological part of the business's infrastructure not
ready, but the social as well: access to the offices has become almost
impossible due to the long lines for mail and internet.

In the main ETECSA office in Santiago de Cuba, located on Carmen Alley,
a user waiting in line who requested anonymity, said: "I just came to
pay the phone bill, and you get stuck here for an hour among internet
users, those refilling their cell phones, and now the emails. I don't
know how they will do it, but this doesn't work. They charge too much,
don't take complaints, and we have to put up with it because there's no
competition."

The solution to network congestion, according to the official, will come
within a "short time" because the investments have already been made.
But the population does not believe it. The uncertainty continues. For
many, the real solution would be to create another telephone company
that competes with the outdated monopoly, but already on the TV
Roundtable show dedicated to foreign investment it has been stated that
telecommunications is not a priority.

So Cubans continue to dream of having normal connection services with
the world, as the government makes fun of us, while charging us dearly.

Lourdes Gomez, Santiago de Cuba, May 1, 2014

From Diario de Cuba

6 May 2014

Source: "The Collapse of ETECSA / Lourdes Gomez | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/the-collapse-of-etecsa-lourdes-gomez-hemosoido/