Biggest test in U.S.-Cuba talks: the Internet

Contrary to what the headlines suggest, the biggest test of President Obama’s move to normalize relations with Cuba will not be whether the two countries agree to set up embassies in their respective capitals, nor whether there is an avalanche of U.S. tourists to Cuba, but whether Cuba will accept U.S. help to expand Internet access on the island.

In his Dec. 17 announcement of talks to set up full diplomatic relations with Cuba, Obama said that one of the centerpieces of his new Cuba policy is to help connect the Cuban people with the rest of the world. To that aim, Washington will lift U.S. rules that have prevented U.S. companies from exporting smartphones, satellite Internet connections, Internet software and other telecommunications equipment to the island, he said.

But judging from what I’m hearing from well-placed visitors to the island, there are good reasons to be skeptical that the Cuban regime will allow any of this to happen.

Right now, Cuba has the lowest Internet penetration rate in Latin America, and one of the lowest in the world. Only 5 percent of Cubans have access to unrestricted Internet, according to the Washington-based Freedom House’s “Freedom on the Net” report.

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