Since Friday, Cuba is that little bit freer than it used to be. Raul Castro has lifted the national ban on “computers, video players, all sizes of televisions, pressure cookers, electric rice cookers, electric bicycles and car alarms”, according to the Washington Post article, but most significantly, the ban on mobile phone purchases was lifted.

Some Cubans already own mobile phones, but it was never an easy process and phones were mostly acquired from foreigners. The new system won’t be as easy as walking into a store and picking up a Pay As You Go phone a minute later, since users will have to pay in foreign currency and the average salary is under $20 USD a month, which means only wealthier people are likely to be able to afford it.

Regardless, it’s a step in the right direction, and Cuba isn’t the only one moving towards loosening its tight grip over means of communication. North Korea, where people were once executed in public for owning a mobile phone, is allowing its citizens to carry them again.

As ownership picks up pace over the next few years, we’ll most likely discover new facets of Cuba as citizens begin to exercise their freedom to communicate.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 31st, 2008 at 10:01 am and is filed under On the Radar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.