Increase in the Number of Cubans Using Cell Phones / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada

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In the past week it’s estimated that more than 35,000 Cubans have gone to the Cuban office of the mobile phone company, CUBACEL, to sign up.

The increase in the number of Cubans is due to the offering of this service known as the thirty-thirty. This type of of offering is for all those nationals who don’t have the initial money to choose this type of telephone.

The CUBACEL agencies were crowded the whole last week during all working hours. The scene was repeated all over the country, the images accompanying this post were taken at one of the agencies in the city of Santa Clara in the center of the country.

CUBACEL is the only agency of this kind in Cuba, and charges high fees for its use. Cuban citiznes who choose this service are obligated to pay in a currency that is worth 25 times the currency they ahre paid in. The only Cubans who can pay this much are elite members of the government.

October 22 2012