Dems look to advance tech’s march in Cuba

The future is coming to Cuba, and it looks a lot like the Internet.

Cubans — especially young ones — are “hungry” for technology and access to the Internet, top congressional Democrats said during a trip to the island nation this week, and tech companies are eager to supply it.

{mosads}“One of the things that has been striking to us is to see the success of small businesses while we were here, and all of which — whether it’s agriculture, small businesses, health — all of it benefits from improved technology, communication, and that,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said during a press conference in Havana on Thursday.

The remarks came during the first House delegation to Cuba since President Obama made a landmark announcement to roll back some trade restrictions last year. The delegation was led by Pelosi and included eight other House Democrats. 

“I think the operative word is ‘future,’ ” added Rep. Anna Eshoo (Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Energy Committee’s Technology Subcommittee, whose district includes much of Silicon Valley.

“I think that this is an area that will be highly beneficial to Cuban society, and will help advance … the values that you all hold, as we do,” she said during the press conference. “I’d love to come back and see 95 percent [broadband Internet] penetration.”

Cuba has a long way to go.

Only about 5 percent of the nation currently has access to high-speed broadband Internet, one of the worst rates in the world. Slightly more people have access to a closed-off network made up largely of Cuban websites.  

Technology and communications were a big component of the president’s announcement in December. New rules could lead to a rush of new devices and infrastructure in Cuba, and major U.S. companies have eagerly eyed the opportunity to jump in. 

“The follow-up in the telecommunications and broadband sector is very exciting in terms of an opportunity for the Cuban people,” Eshoo said. “We want to work with them in order to advance it, so that really the values of the Cuban people, in education, in medicine, in commerce, in scholarship — that all of that can be advanced, just as it is in our society and other countries around the world.”

In addition to the Internet, new technology would also allow Cuban doctors to diagnose and speak with patients remotely, the lawmakers noted, which could have profound impacts on public health. New opportunities for agricultural exports and other trade can similarly give a major boost to Cubans’ standard of living.

“One thread that runs through all of this, of course, is the well-being of the Cuban people,” Pelosi said.