There will be mini refills of 360 pesos for 30 days and others that cost up to 11,760 CUP.
14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, 30 May 2025 — Friday started badly for customers of Etecsa, Cuba’s state telecommunications monopoly. Etecsa has implemented, beginning May 30, new commercial measures that limit the refills of minutes in Cuban pesos and increase the price of web browsing, while encouraging the purchase of mobile balances from abroad to attract foreign currency, in the midst of the deep crisis that the company is experiencing.
At a press conference, Lidia Esther Hidalgo Rodríguez, vice president of sales for Etecsa, explained that customers of the prepaid mobile service will be able to top up their main balance to reach a total amount of 360 Cuban pesos over the course of 30 days. This restriction contrasts with the possibility that Etecsa customers had, until this Thursday, of buying refills in national currency without restrictions.
With a refill of 360 pesos for 30 days, consumers will be able to purchase, at most, a package with 6 gigabytes (GB) of web browsing, 60 minutes for making calls and the possibility of sending 70 text-only messages (SMS). As an improvement, Hidalgo explained that data plans can be used from any network, unlike before, when the packages divided the offer into 3G and 4G.
Below the package of higher price and capacity are those of 4.5 GB of Internet connection for 240 pesos; another of 2 GB + 15 min and 20 SMS for 120 pesos, and one of 4 GB + 35 min and 40 SMS for 240 pesos. “Current data-based plan offerings are improved, guaranteeing more resources for less,” the official added. Customers will keep the balance they have accumulated so far and can use it to “continue purchasing unlimited plans or make as many balance transfers as they wish.”
Hidalgo’s enthusiasm did not manage to disguise the increase in costs that this new adjustment means for Cuban pockets.
However, Hidalgo’s enthusiasm did not manage to disguise the increase in costs that this new adjustment means for Cuban pockets. Once the client has exhausted the 360 pesos of the monthly refill allowed, he will have to enter the field of the so-called “Extras” that are offered. Among those options, the prices increase significantly.
Beginning this Friday, to purchase an extra package of 3 GB of web browsing you need 3,360 pesos, while to obtain 7 GB you have to pay 6,720, a figure that exceeds the average monthly salary, which in 2024 stood at 5,839 pesos. The jewel in the crown, the 15 GB package of data to connect to the Internet, is 11,760 pesos, a price that has caused a flurry of indignant comments on the official pages of the company. The “Extras” are for data only and do not include voice or SMS.
The difference in costs is no small thing. Until yesterday, without a limit on refills or net purchases in national currency, Cubans could purchase packages for the 4G network to connect to the Internet with prices ranging from 1 GB for 100 pesos, 2.5 GB for 200 pesos, and the higher capacity, 16 GB for 950 pesos. With the new tariffs, the price of GB increases by 1,229% or, in other words, is multiplied by 13.
In Cuba the majority of Internet users access the network via mobile telephones, given the low penetration of cable connections
On the island, where most Internet users access the network via mobile telephones, given the low penetration of cable connections, the limit of 360 pesos per monthly refill and the high prices of extra packages augur a drop in the presence of Cubans in cyberspace. The complaints that from the early hours of the morning began to fill the official sites denounce, rightly, this situation.
“Did you know that there are many university students like me who need to access audiovisual materials on the Internet?” asked a young man in the comments of one of the many publications that spread Etecsa’s measures as if they were a benefit to customers. “This change forces Cubans to have someone buy a refill from abroad, but what about those who don’t have anyone out there?” another commentator complained.
The new prices have been presented as part of a strategy announced by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz during the sessions of the National Assembly of People’s Power in December. The official then commented that a series of measures had been adopted to stimulate Etecsa’s foreign currency earnings and complained that “since it gave us more business to pay for the packages in national currency,” the company had practically stopped earning foreign currency.
Hidalgo said this Friday that “all offers will keep the 300 MB of national navigation” and stressed that the three main ways to add balances remain in force: national refills in pesos, transfers of balances between individuals, and refills from abroad that are paid in foreign currency. The latter are the most important for the state monopoly, which is facing a deep crisis in its infrastructure due to low investment and lack of resources.
“There is only one extra plan with data, SMS and international minutes, although most customers make international calls through messaging platforms,” explained Hidalgo
“There is only one extra plan with data, SMS and international minutes, although most customers make international calls through messaging platforms,” explained Hidalgo. In addition, he also spread the appearance of a new menu, which is accessed by dialing *222*732# and which will allow users to know the amount of refill allowed and the date from which the customer must reload.
Etecsa’s move has not surprised anyone. In January, an employee of the state monopoly commented to 14ymedio that “What happens now is that a mobile phone customer sometimes has thousands of pesos in balance and can buy any navigation package he wants. He can even make transfers of that money to others so they can also buy a connection package, and this will be more limited.” The worker was categorical: “Etecsa can do almost nothing with those Cuban pesos. It’s a dead fund in the face of investments and for the purchase of infrastructure.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.