The early hours of Wednesday morning saw a nationwide blackout in Cuba, leading to widespread disruptions in Internet connectivity. Diktyon, an independent group that tracks Internet activity on the island, posted on Twitter a graph illustrating a sharp decline in cyber traffic at 2:08 am. This was the precise moment when the National Electric System (SEN) disconnected.
Even five hours after the disruption began, data transfer rates in and out of Cuba remained alarmingly low. The report indicates that since the SEN disconnection, traffic has fluctuated between 39% and 50% of what it was at the same time on the previous week.
Meanwhile, the state-run communications monopoly, ETECSA, issued a report detailing the impact on mobile services due to the system collapse. As of 1:00 pm, national service was down by 53%. The most severely affected provinces were Camagüey, at 63%, and Havana, at 60%.
ETECSA stated on Twitter, "As power is restored, the availability of service will improve."
Common Questions about Internet Outages in Cuba
What caused the Internet outage in Cuba?
The Internet outage in Cuba was triggered by a nationwide blackout that began early Wednesday morning, resulting in the disconnection of the National Electric System.
Which areas in Cuba were most affected by the service disruption?
The provinces of Camagüey and Havana experienced the most significant impact, with outages of 63% and 60%, respectively.
What did ETECSA say about the situation?
ETECSA reported a 53% national service disruption due to the power collapse and mentioned that service availability would improve as power is restored.