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Cuba confirms undersea cable carrying data traffic(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) HAVANA -- Cuban government telecom ETECSA is confirming that the island's first hard-wired Internet connection to the outside world has been activated. ETECSA says the ALBA-1 fiber-optic cable has been operational since last August and initially carried international voice calls. A company statement published Thursday in state-run media says it has been used for tests of Internet traffic since Jan. 10. ETECSA says more investment must be made in infrastructure to increase Internet access. The ALBA-1 arrived on the island from Venezuela in February 2011. But officials soon fell silent about the cable amid rumors about mismanagement and corruption involving the project. Its status was unknown until this week, when U.S. Internet analysis firm Renesys reported faster data traffic to Cuba and concluded that the cable had been switched on. (c) 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |