TheBBChas just reported that Cuba will be getting an underseafibre-optic1000 mile cable that will link to Venezuela, and it will bring download speeds 3000 times faster than their current connection.

And as BBC points out, the Internetwillbe faster but only for the small majority of Cubans who are able to get internet access.

As it stands now, Cuba has the least amount of people with access to the Internet in the western hemisphere, coming in at only 3 percent of the population.

Medardo Diaz, the Cuban Information and Communications Minister said the new cable will “reinforced Cuba’s sovereignty” and further stated that the cable will “be at the service of our people, as a tool to reinforce its development, integration and sovereignty” .

The new Internet link is being financed byBolivarian Alliancefor the Peoples of Our America, a group created byHugo Chavez, the Venezuelan President. Florida is a lot closer than Venezuela at only 144 Km’s away however, Cuba’s US trade embargo has stopped it from creating a cable with the United States.

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Cuba’s new cable is great news for the Cuban people who suffer from the slowest Internet speeds in the world, which is not only slow, it’s expensive too.  Access to Internet has been limited to people with government permission, and since 2009 Cubans have been accessing the net from Internet cafes, hotels and even from black market connections, according to the BBC.

Story byBrodie Beta

Brodie Beta is a technology enthusiast with a passion for gadgets, media and anything related to the Web. She has worked in communications(show all)Brodie Beta is a technology enthusiast with a passion for gadgets, media and anything related to the Web. She has worked in communications and media for the past nine years. Follow her on twitterhere.

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