4 ms·
I stayed in a casa particular in Baracoa, Cuba, a couple of years ago. The owner had an illegal Internet connection that was beamed down via a Pringles can styl
by chris_overseas 12y ago
I stayed in a casa particular in Baracoa, Cuba, a couple of years ago. The owner had an illegal Internet connection that was beamed down via a Pringles can style setup from a tourist hotel on top of a nearby hill (apparently fancy tourist hotels there often have unrestricted Internet). He would lose his connection for a day or two each month when the setup had to be removed and hidden from the local inspector. I can't remember exactly how much he said he was paying but it was a lot even by Western standards, something like US$200/month, and the performance was pretty awful.
- mikeash 12y agoInteresting story. Do you happen to know what he did with his internet access? Look at pictures of cats and argue with strangers like the rest of us?
- chris_overseas 12y agoHeh... he was one of the many doctors in Cuba and had been fortunate enough to travel to a couple of countries to work, so he'd had a bit of a taste of the outside world. As far as I could tell he mostly used the Internet to keep informed on what was really going on in the world, without the censorship or propaganda that affected the local news sources. Based on some of the things he said I suspected he was very active politically though I didn't feel it was wise or fair to question him about that, as much as I wanted to.