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President Obama says Google plans to help broaden internet access in Cuba

About a year after the United States’ historical renewal of its relationship with Cuba, which among other things allowed American firms to do business in the country, it looks like things are looking bright for Cuban people interested in getting online.

In an exclusive interview with ABC News, President Obama stated that ‘change is going to happen’, and notably mentioned Google as one of the first companies about to make the internet a reality for more and more people in the country…

With only 5% of Cubans currently being able to access the internet, this might indeed be a big deal for many. The President stated that the search giant “has a deal to start setting up more WiFi and broadband access on the island”, even though it is not exactly clear how or what Google is planning to launch specifically. Google Fiber seems like an obvious candidate.

“Google has been in talks with Cuba about a range of ways that it can operate on the island and contribute to Cuba’s efforts to upgrade its connectivity,” a senior administration official said on Monday, according to The Wall Street Journal. “Those discussions have made good progress but aren’t yet complete.”

Content restriction is still a problem that the tech firm will likely not be able to solve, but it wouldn’t surprise us if a cheaper way for thousands of people to connect online were to be delivered nonetheless. It’s not hard to see Google’s motivation here; bringing on an entire country’s population to look at ads served through its search engine and on content platforms would be a big win for the Mountain View giant.

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Avatar for Edoardo Maggio Edoardo Maggio

Italian. Tech geek, video games, photography and music lover, comics-based movies enthusiast, and a sucker for good design. Amateur photographer (VSCO, 500px), writer and reporter for 9to5Google.


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