ABSTRACT
In 2015, wi-fi antennas were installed in more than 300 public spaces all over Cuba, mainly in parks and plazas. This allowed Cubans to have access to legal wi-fi internet connections for the first time. Three wi-fi antennas were fixed on the wall at the bottom of the cathedral in Céspedes Park in the city of Santiago de Cuba. The chapter develops an overview of the recent digital media infrastructure changes happening in Cuba—in relation to accessing the internet but also the StreetNet or SNET, and other alternative networks of digital data circulation, such as the ones based on memory sticks, hard drives and cell phones. Isaac is the character who leads us in the mysterious world of Cuban internet and into the business of illicit wi-fi connections. Every night, Isaac makes his way to the park to sell illicit wi-fi connections to Cubans who connect with their family abroad. But he is not the only pirate in the park. Isaac fantasises of using the wi-fi connection as a weapon to fight the “invaders.” In trying to protect an invisible signal from potential invaders, he is involved not only in a “wi-fi war” but also in a “star war.” Isaac is a good example of how Cubans in general cope resourcefully with a precarious economic situation, compounded by the U.S. embargo.
