Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Embassies and Island Wide Wi-Fi by July in Cuba

President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that the U.S. and Cuba will now reestablish diplomatic ties and reopen embassies in their respective capitals. The announcement comes just one month after the Secretary of State removed Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list. Although it would take an act of Congress to lift the trade embargo, reopening embassies is another brick in the foundation of normalizing trade relations. With the new embassies opening in July, there will be greater contact between the US and the Cuban people which will ultimately lead to a change in the US’s attitude towards the trade embargo.

A new US embassy is not the only thing coming to Cuba in July. Cuba’s state-run telecommunications company is planning on opening a network of Wi-Fi hotspots that spans the entire island. They also plan on cutting the price of hourly access in half to $2. However, even though costs are less and there will be more Wi-Fi hotspots, the internet may still not be that accessible to the Cuban people. That being said, the world’s largest tech companies are looking towards Cuba as a new telecommunication investment opportunity. 

Review the license exceptions here to see how you can take advantage of the technology, trade, and travel exemptions. 

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