In recent years, the company’s investment curve has been decreasing, in addition to the level of exploitation of some equipment.

During the last Ordinary Session of the National Assembly of People’s Power, Politburo member and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz announced a group of measures to be implemented this year to correct distortions and boost the economy, including increasing the foreign exchange earnings of the Cuban Telecommunications Company (Etecsa).

For the moment,» explained the company’s executive president Tania Velázquez Rodríguez at a recent press conference, «we are working to create the conditions for their implementation.

She stressed that, without renouncing what has been achieved, the population will continue to enjoy its services in national currency, but solutions must be sought to monetise the resources that have been invested, and to be able to sustain them.

Everything that has been achieved so far in the country in terms of telecommunications, he said, is the result of the implementation of high dollar investments over the years, which have made it possible to boost development and strengthen the system.

He added that the financing of these investments, as well as the expenses in dollars associated with day-to-day maintenance, has been sustained by the sources of foreign currency income generated by Etecsa.

Every time a Cuban accesses the internet, he said, the monthly connection costs are paid in dollars. For example, the cost of installing a radio base oscillates around 100,000 dollars.

He said that, in recent years, the company’s investment curve has decreased, in addition to the level of exploitation of some equipment. «We have not had the necessary financial resources to meet these investment and sustainability needs».

In this regard, he exemplified that internet penetration in homes, through Nauta Hogar, is only 7.5%, and although there is a projection for 2030, the pace of investment has not kept up.

The same is true for the 5,600 or so radio bases, 50 % of which do not have the power availability to maintain battery backups. «Whether you have 2g, 3g or 4g, the energy demand varies, and the autonomy is reduced».

«All the increase in mobile users, and therefore the increase in their traffic, has been sustained, practically, on the same base station infrastructure that we have,» the director emphasised.

Similarly, the impact on revenues has impacted the home internet plan that was planned for the last few years, bringing in just 30,000 in four years, while the social commitment to bring internet access solutions to remote areas has also been affected by the low level of investments made.

MAINTAINING THE OPERATION OF THE NETWORK

Despite this situation, Velázquez Rodríguez pointed out that conditions have been created so that the access network has what it needs to function.

He exemplified that, in 2020, 63% of the company’s total revenue came from abroad, mainly generated by mobile top-up services.

However, in 2021, a steady decline in revenues began. In 2024, 10 % was reported, with mobile top-up being the most affected, directly related to the evolution of the illegal exchange rate.

The directive commented on the existence of a gap that has made it necessary to take actions to recover part of the income lost from abroad. These actions have not been entirely effective, as it is still necessary to recover income to replenish resources.

He highlighted the goodwill of international suppliers and operators, who have been important allies, but «at the point where we are now, decisions must be taken to recover part of the lost market, which still exists».

Protecting the population, maintaining the availability of services and seeking solutions that allow for the sustainability and growth that the country’s telecommunications network needs are part of the basic principles that Etecsa proposes for 2025.

INCREASE IN SERVICES IN 2024

The President of the entity said that in terms of e-commerce, the Transfermóvil platform, developed by Etecsa, will exceed 5.3 million users by the end of 2024, registering more than 1.2 billion transactions and a 30 % growth rate.

He added that online payments had doubled by 2023, the number of businesses using Transfermóvil for their operations had tripled (more than 150,000 in total), and more than 600,000 mobile wallets had been created.

Regarding the latter, he noted its importance in the unbanked sector of the population for access to e-commerce services and the incorporation of new functionalities this year, with the aim of increasing its use.

Likewise, several versions of the application were launched, with new functionalities for users and new solutions for payment by QR for products and services in the businesses that contract it.

He pointed out that new features were added to the Alternative Fixed Telephony service (which today has 116,000 subscribers), such as payment of the monthly fee, the possibility of recharging the service at any time, making national and international calls, and sending/receiving national and international sms.

In addition, Etecsa continues to ensure connectivity to important institutions in various sectors, including science, education, health, domestic commerce, banking, among others, in support of the digital transformation process underway in the country.

MOBILE DATA SERVICES IN CUBA

Eight million mobile lines

95 % are provisioned for internet access

76 % of handsets on the network support 4g

90 % of the terminals are smartphones