Cuban system only supports the elite

 Cuba Verdad:

Cuba has less than one fixed line telephone per 10 inhabitants and has slowly been adopting cell phones as a less expensive alternative in terms of state investment.

Cuban cell phone density is rated by the United Nations as the worst in Latin America and fixed-line density the sixth lowest.

Cubans are free to buy and use cell phones in a hard currency equivalent called convertible pesos at an exchange rate of 24 pesos to the convertible peso or CUC.

The state dominates the economy and the average state wage is around 420 pesos, or 18 convertible pesos, per month.

At the same time some 60 percent of the population has some access to hard currency through money sent them by relatives abroad, tourism tips and state bonuses.

A cellular telephone line costs 60 CUCs and the cheapest cellular phone is priced at 60 CUCs.

A minutes use of a cell phone calling out or receiving averages half a CUC or more than half a days state wages, while an up to 160 character text message costs .16 CUC to send.

New technologies to receive and send e-mail, access Internet and receive and send graphics do not exist.

Cuba’s  phone company spokesperson spews the regimes usual convoluted logic to excuse its failure to provide basic service to the people:

“Lines assigned for social reasons account for just 30 percent of those in use, but account for almost 80 percent of the traffic.” 

“For this reason and to avoid congestion not only do we have to constantly invest to increase coverage, but have to limit the minutes assigned to social uses.”

Here’s the kicker:

“The vast majority of cell phone traffic is subsidized by the state thanks to the income from cell phones functioning in convertible currency.”

Translation:  The elite in Cuba are subsidized by the labor of their slaves, i.e. “the people”