Cubans have been spending more hours in daily blackouts than with electricity for weeks. When the power goes out, nearly half of the country's telecommunication antennas also lose service. It is a communications blackout that increasingly leaves more than nine million Cubans without landlines, mobile phones, or home internet for hours each day, precisely when the electricity fails. "The energy crisis affects our society in every way. First, the messages come in, then it loses connection for an hour, after putting it on airplane mode five times, it reconnects," explains a resident. The state telecommunications company Etecsa explained to the official outlet Cubadebate that "the fundamental source of power for telecommunications services remains the national electrical grid," and when it fails, backup is often not possible. "When (the power) fails, about 1,250 radio bases (47.5% of the country) go down, while the number of cabinets is around 950 (56.5%)," explained Sybel Alonso Baldor, Etecsa's Vice President of Network Operations. Cubans experience this firsthand. And during a national blackout, it's even worse. "During the last national blackout of more than a day (March 22), I couldn't get connected until the power came back," says a resident. During national blackouts, you have to leave the house, put your mobile on airplane mode, and then take it off. Some advocate for suspending classes until basic conditions are restored. In June 2025, Etecsa announced a sharp and sudden increase in mobile internet tariffs in Cuba. An extra recharge of 7 gigabytes a month started to cost more than an average salary (6,506 pesos, about $54.20). This sparked criticism on the island, but to this day, the prices have not changed. University students, who led the complaints at the time, have again in recent weeks protested over the service and prices, especially after the U.S. oil embargo. "Mobile data disconnects completely and I can't make direct calls," details EFE Yunieska Montoya, a resident of Centro Habana. In the first total system outages in October and November 2024, Etecsa reported that 42% of the country's 2,500 mobile radio bases were out of service, as well as 32% of the 236,000 landlines. The frequency of blackouts over the last year and a half has affected many of the telecommunication antennas' batteries, so nearly half have no backup in case of a power outage. Some are on the verge of desperation, like Havana resident Rafael Heredia, who tries to get internet from a park in the capital. This doctor has his method.
