Technology firms are watching closely. Just 5 percent of Cubans have unfiltered access to the Internet. A fiber-optic undersea cable from Venezuela brought the promise of some relief when it opened in 2011, but logging on at one of the country’s 300 public internet-access centers will run you $4.50 an hour. And that’s in a country where, by some estimates, the average hourly wage works out to roughly 5 cents per hour. If Obama is serious about expanding connectivity, he has a powerful tool. The U.S. is already building a $40 million undersea cable to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, one powerful enough to boost access for the entire island.
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