Havana Cuba. — The Cuban Telecommunications Company (ETECSA) launched an international recharge promotion for the month of December that includes free WhatsApp for a month, the state company published on its official Twitter profile.
“International Recharge Promotion from December 5 to 10. If you receive an international recharge between 500 and 1,250 CUP, the amount goes to your main balance and you can also enjoy for 30 days: WhatsApp for free 24 hours a day plus unlimited Internet from 12 am to 7 am,” the ad specifies.
? #Promotion International RECHARGE from December 5 to 10.
If you receive ? an international recharge between 500 and 1250 CUP, the amount goes to your main balance and you can also enjoy for 30 days:
? WhatsApp FREE 24 hours a day ➕ UNLIMITED Internet from 12am to 7am ?? pic.twitter.com/8IUFqXziYb—Cubacel (@Cubacel_ETECSA) December 1, 2022
CubaNet was able to contact the ETECSA user service, which explained that the data consumed from the WhatsApp application will not reduce the data package for one month. The same happens with Internet browsing, but in this case, the promotion will only apply at dawn.
“It is important that recharging be done from abroad through the sites that have an agreement with ETECSA, this is very important,” an official from the state monopoly told this newspaper.
Many users reacted negatively to the new option, since it excludes Cubans on the island who do not have relatives abroad. Furthermore, since WhatsApp is not an application that consumes too much data, the offer will not be of much help in saving data and the Internet and during the early morning very few will be able to take advantage of it due to the schedule.
“Really, how stupid is this country, as if people don’t work to wait until dawn to connect for free. They no longer know how to take money from one,” said a user on Twitter identified as Ubar regarding the new promotion.
“Recently there was a problem on the network that coincidentally started at 12,” added the Internet user.
Similarly, users criticized the lousy quality of the Internet speed and some anticipate an even slower service due to the fact that WhatsApp and the Internet will be free during the early hours of the morning.
On the other hand, ETECSA values the dollar at only 25 pesos in national currency (CUP), while its official price, imposed by the authorities themselves, is 120 CUP.
In the early hours of November 26, ETECSA users reported an Internet blackout throughout the island. The damage caused it to be impossible to navigate the Internet through mobile data.
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