- SpaceX will begin offering Starlink, their low-Earth orbit (LEO) broadband Internet service, in the Caribbean this year or early next year.
- ETECSA, Cuba's government monopoly Internet service provider, is already using SES's O3b middle-Earth orbit satellites for international traffic and may very well be planning to use next-generation O3b satellites for mobile backhaul.
- Cuba may be considering Chinese LEO constellations for future connectivity, but China is far behind SpaceX.
- SpaceX has a lot to offer Cuba.
- In spite of his rhetoric, Trump has not done anything to further constrain Internet service from the US.
- The final report of Trump's Cuba Internet Task Force recommended that among other things we "facilitate exports and services and engage with the U.S. private sector to clarify current regulations and seek feedback on how the regulations affect their ability to invest in ICT in Cuba."
- Trump is willing to "make deals" with dictators.
- Elon Musk is a risk-taker.
- ETECSA has accepted Google Global Cache servers -- how about a ground station in the same data center?
- It is hard to imagine ETECSA allowing end-user satellite terminals given the Cuban political situation, but they could use them for mobile backhaul and connectivity to WiFi hotspots, state organizations like clinics, schools, Joven Clubs, etc.
Update 1/9/2020
For a Spanish translation of this post, click here.
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