EuroWire March 2016

Transatlantic cable

“Removing Cuba from the Exclusion List bene ts the public interest as it will likely alleviate administrative and cost burdens,” on both the FCC and the telecoms, the agency said – adding that this would also promote competition among carriers interested in the Cuban market. By all metrics that market is a plum ripe for the picking by providers of wireless phone and Internet services. According to an analysis by Freedom House, the published statistic that ve per cent to 26 per cent of Cubans have Internet access must be understood in light of their government’s de nition of “access.” In June 2013 Cuba’s new high-speed Internet was ostensibly opened to citizens; but the Washington-based research and advocacy group noted that access is by way of designated, censored, so-called cyber points “at prices few can a ord.” As reported by USA Today (15 th January), Freedom House asserted that high fees, exceptionally slow connectivity, and extensive government regulation in Cuba result in “a pronounced lack of access to applications and services other than email.” Most Cuban users can avail themselves only of a government- controlled “intranet” rather than the global Internet, with hourly connection costs amounting to 20 per cent of the minimum monthly wage. So demand is there, and now so is opportunity. In September, the USA departments of Commerce and Treasury had removed a series of restrictions on Americans travelling to and doing business with Cuba. The changes, ranging from investment to banking to joint ventures, enabled American businesses to

† As the result of progress on 4G and fewer spectrum auctions, operators’ cash ow will get a boost from continued operating-cost cuts and a lower capital spending requirement. The carriers that have advanced furthest – switching their subscribers to xed-mobile converged subscriptions and taking the lead in network deployment – may gain an advantage in cash generation. † Integrated carriers’ xed-to-mobile bundled services in Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium are proving an e ective way to reduce customer churn, prompting cable and mobile operators to complement their services. So far, demand has been stimulated by discounts on bundled services, o setting some of the churn-reduction bene ts. As the market matures, regulators may intervene to ease switching over from one operator to another. Pay-TV content and broadband speed will be key to in uencing the customer’s decision among the bundles on o er.

It’s o cial: although the US economic embargo of Cuba remains in place, telecoms may set up shop there

The US Federal Communications Commission has given up its active discouragement of business dealings with Cuba, the last country on the FCC “Exclusion List.” On 15 th January the agency announced it would henceforth allow American companies to provide telecommunications services to the island nation 90 miles from Key West, Florida, without having rst to secure FCC approval.

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March 2016