Hi ukbill, my understanding is that, yes, it is possible but that it is horrendously expensive hence why I have never tried it to see if it true! Seriously, the general advice I have always been given is to turn off roaming on your mbl and if you really do need to email and/or maintain data access then make sure that you set up a monetary cap with your provider before you go to ensure that you don't run up a major bill because it is easy to exceed your contract provision unless you are really careful.

When I go I take a very basic Knokia that I put my Virgin sim in to and then just use it for txting as the way to keep in touch with friends in Cuba and at home. I pre-arrange to txt home breakfast time in Cuba which is around 6pm here in the UK and that works well enough for routine keeping in touch. Friends and family are under strict instructions to only ring me in dire emergencies and to only expect a call from me in similar circumstances. And even then, the cheapest way of me doing that is to get an Etecsa phonecard and ring from an Etecsa 'taxi' phone in one of their shops.

Another good reason for taking the ancient Knokia is that it charges up fine while I'm there! Not all phones will because of the fluctuations in supply and the voltage. Most of the electricity supply in Cuba is only 110v and even in hotel rooms I've sometimes found that the only 220v supply is to the air-conditioning unit and having to choose between charging the phone or keeping the AC on concentrates the mind wonderfully in the heat and humidity of Cuba in July. And whilst steet crime is almost unheard of, I would never dream of carrying a smart phone around with me in Cuba for the same reason that I would never take really expensive camera equipment out and about with me, especially when out dancing at night - why put temptation in people's way?

Similarly I understand that it is now possible to get a local PAYG SIM card but again the word is that this works out very expensive too. Friends here who need to keep in touch with friends and family in Cuba have found that the only really reliable and reasonably economic way of doing it is to send them a UK contract phone out. If I tell you that the company reps for the TO I use for dance holidays use UK contract mbls when out there rather than local SIMs and txt rather than ring us and that they too use the Internet cafes or tourist office facilities when it comes to sending emails I hope that gives you an idea of the local context.

Generally speaking, if you want to do more than just have a phone with you for emergencies or for txting, the cheapest way of keeping in touch via email or sending pictures etc is to use an Etecsa Internet cafe or - more expensive but probably more convenient - use the internet facilities at your hotel. Paying locally in CUCs like this is not only cheaper but again makes it easier to keep track of the costs. But in most situations don't expect anything approaching our broadband speeds over here - probably still more like the old days of 'dial-up' Net access with all the problems that entailed when sending sending data heavy messages and downloads etc.

Things are loosening up and will continue to do so but investing in ICT infrastructure hasn't been a priority for the Cuban Government to date - and let's be honest, they do still want to exercise a fair degree of control over the ease with which the population can communicate with people outside of the country. Nor should one underestimate just how far the tentacles of the US embargo extend when it comes to the latest communications technology either.

The latest word 'on the streets' with regards to suitable gifts to take out for Cuban friends is 'memory sticks'! They are very expensive out there but everybody wants one because they are essential when Internet access for the great majority of people is through an Internet cafe or a community access computer in a school. It's the only way you can store your own data and hope to keep it reasonably private and even if you have a computer at home (friends over there are always dropping very heavy hints once they realise how frequently many people in the UK update their hardware - get away with taking and giving away an old laptop in Cuba and you will be extremely popular!) you need a memory stick to take whatever you want to send via the Internet to a public access computer with Net access. So I've started to build-up a stock of all the 'giveaways' that I receive (why does everybody think that memory sticks are the ideal freebies for academics?) and if the Uni library is yet again giving out memory sticks with the Uni's logo on to all the new students in their registration packs I'll be letting it be known that I'll happily take any that are leftover/unwanted off their hands. But the idea that a 'memory stick', even those with in our terms a relatively low storage capacity, is a much desired and highly valued gift because its worth a week's wages to many Cubans says a lot about the local infrastructure when it comes to ICT.

SM

Thanks Sma for your usual interesting and helpful detailed reply.

I do like my gadgets, and after two previous visits to Cuba, the only thing I don't like about the island is the fact that it's just a tad behind the rest of the known universe in comms technology.
I know it's not completely their fault, and I'll take the hint about taking a few old USB flash drives with me for folk I meet out there who may want them.

I'm still tempted to try the suggested procedure on a spare mobile I have, and looking around a bit it seems that I can maybe rent a Cuban SIM for 3CUC per day. I don't plan a lot of volume and I know how to shrink pics and files.
( I regularly send E-postcards from my travels to nice places across the planet since I retired, to work colleagues, particularly to a certain ex-boss!).
So I'm thinking of giving it a go. If it "bricks" the mobile I'll bin it.

If it works and is useful I'll post the info on HT for the benefit of others.
And since the mobile I'll take is quite a nice X6 smartphone, and only a couple of years old,
I'll leave it behind for a friendly Cuban. It's not now got much resale value in the UK

And since the mobile I'll take is quite a nice X6 smartphone, and only a couple of years old,
I'll leave it behind for a friendly Cuban. It's not now got much resale value in the UK

You'll make a friend for life! A tourist who really does have a mobile to give away! Seriously, it will be really gratefully received by whoever is the lucky recipient.

And do let us know how you get on with regard to using a local SIM etc - as you say, what have you got to lose in the circumstances? Though I must admit - the fact that Cuba is a bit of a backwater when it comes to ICT is one of the attractions for me - but I'm sure that it will help others. The bliss of being able to say to people before I leave home 'Don't expect me to be checking emails, sending postcards (either real or virtual!) or phoning home except in emergencies' feels really liberating for me. Just like I remember it in the past when going on holiday really was about 'getting away from it all'

SM