Interestingly, Cuba has developed an alternative network for the distribution of many types of digital content: people with access to content download it and di

Interestingly, Cuba has developed an alternative network for the distribution of many types of digital content: people with access to content download it and distribute it using portable hard drives and usb sticks. A friend of mine recently visited Cuba, and according to him, these "paquete shops" are everywhere. There are standard bundles of content (tv shows, movies, viral videos, news, music, etc), and a la carte service. According to him, the content is consistently up-to-date (the latest Game of Thrones episode is available within 2-3 days). The shops themselves have developed brands, part of the value they provide is curatorial, as each bundle is different. Some of them have even branched out into adding their own bundled content, including neighborhood classifieds (craigslist, anyone?). Information really only travels in one direction, so it is not even close to the real internet, but we could image an enterprising paquete shop bundling in some encryption software and forum software to enable two-way communication. More here: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/23/cuba-offline-internet-weekly-packet-external-hard-drives http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/23/cuba-offline-in...