The Havana Times reported that in many localities in Cuba, Internet and telecommunications services are being restricted by time frame during the day as power outages remain severe.
Xiomara, a resident of Villa Clara province, said that landline phones and mobile data are often inactive for most of the day. "We don't have the means to visit relatives, and now we can't even know what they are like," she said.
According to feedback from residents and announcements from local authorities, Cuban Telecommunications Company Etecsa - the sole service provider in the island nation - is forced to allocate Internet and telephone connections according to specific time frames to save energy.
A user named Lazaro Jose Beltran said that the communication disruption occurred even when the service price had increased. "It's unacceptable that as soon as there is a power outage, the entire city of Remedios immediately loses contact" - he wrote on social media in early March.
The fuel crisis and problems in telecommunications infrastructure are making the situation more serious.
On March 2, 2026, a generator at a telephone switchboard in the city of Cárdenas broke down, completely disrupting telecommunications services in the area. Four days later, Cuba's Girón newspaper reported that the service had only been partially restored.
Mr. Gustavo Montesinos ReyeRey, Director of Etecsa in Matanzas province, said that when the generator stops operating, the system must rely on backup batteries. However, these battery packs only operate for a short time and quickly run out of power.
“Then we had to find temporary solutions, including moving the generator from another agency with the permission of the provincial government to maintain operations at Cárdenas until the broken equipment is repaired,” he said.
Telecommunications disruptions not only occurred in Cárdenas but also spread to localities such as Perico, Colón, Los Arabos and Calimete.
To limit the loss of connection, Etecsa has set a power generator operating schedule according to each time frame, depending on the remaining fuel. According to the plan, these devices will operate for about 6 hours each day, divided into 3 time frames: From 8-10 am, 13-15 pm and 19-21 pm.
In Fomento town in Sancti Spíritus province, the Internet is also only active in 3 similar time slots. This forces people to plan in advance if they want to contact or access information online.
In Ranchuelo, Villa Clara province, local authorities also announced "temporary adjustment of connection time" due to power shortages.
According to Mr. Roberto Perez Morales, Director of Etecsa at Villa Clara, most mobile substations, public wifi points and landline phone systems are affected by prolonged power outages. He admitted that the province does not have enough fuel to operate backup generators.
The Pinar del Río government has tried to install solar panels for some telephone cabinets to maintain fixed telephone and home Internet services. However, many people believe that these measures are still not enough.
