Madrid/The Cuban Ministry of Communications has once again warned that it is prohibited to import and use mobile phone signal amplifiers or repeaters, under threat of fines and confiscations. The institution assures that these devices cause interference and harm other users, in a country where telephone coverage constantly fails and Etecsa, the state telecommunications monopoly, cannot guarantee a stable service.
“Don’t be fooled,” says the Ministry in a Facebook postin which it insists that the repeaters are not approved or authorized by the radio spectrum regulatory body. According to the authorities, these devices cause call cuts and loss of quality in communications.
The official newspaper September 5from Cienfuegos, has reinforced the warning with an article signed by Pablo Morales Concepción, territorial director of Control of the Ministry of Communications. According to the official, poorly calibrated equipment amplifies electromagnetic noise and causes the neighborhood antenna to become “deaf” to telephone signals. In the most serious cases, he assures, they can leave hundreds of users incommunicado.
“Surveillance must be community-based,” maintains the territorial director of Control of the Ministry of Communications in Cienfuegos.
“The neighbor who installed the amplifier to have ‘one more line’ of signal is stealing the quality of the service,” says Morales, who demands to intensify customs surveillance and locate the equipment installed in homes. “Surveillance must be community-based,” he maintains, and asks to involve local authorities in identifying the owners.
The prohibition on importing these devices was expressly included in the Resolution 1/2026published on May 21 in the Extraordinary Official Gazette number 66. The regulations also maintains restrictions on satellite internet terminals, such as Starlink, and requires technical authorization to introduce certain routersantennas and other telecommunications equipment.
The prohibitions have had consequences. In April 2025, the General Customs of the Republic reported the seizure of 20 Starlink kits and 85 routers at the Havana airport. Last October, a official profile assured that several sellers of satellite dishes had been sentenced in Santa Clara to four and five years in prison, although he did not identify those punished nor present judicial sentences that would allow verification.
The Ministry’s warning has provoked numerous criticisms in its own post. User Juan Carlos Pupo Ruiz recognizes that interference requires regulation, but questions that the authorities do “neither of the two things: they neither improve the signal nor allow you to buy a solution on your own. They leave you incommunicado and, if you try to make a living, they fine you and confiscate your equipment.”
Geiler Rodríguez does not rule out technical damages either: “People look for solutions to communicate, without being fully aware of the collective damage that this can cause.” However, he demands that the Government explain what Etecsa is doing to improve its infrastructure, instead of limiting itself to listing prohibitions.
“The ordinary Cuban cannot continue being the one who pays the prices, endures the deficiencies and, on top of that, has to ask for permission to find a solution,” demands a user.
“Then start approving and marketing those that can be used,” proposes Jes Divale in the comments to post official. Yuniel González Torres summarizes the malaise: “The ordinary Cuban cannot continue being the one who pays the prices, endures the deficiencies and, on top of that, has to ask permission to find a solution.”
Network deficiencies have been recognized by the monopoly itself of telecommunications in Cuba. In January 2025, its president, Tania Velázquez, reported that half of the 5,600 radio bases in the country lacked energy backup and 10% had failures in parts and components. During blackouts, stations without power stop working and overload the remaining ones.
Added to these problems was the great rate May 2025. Etecsa limited recharges in Cuban pesos to 360 every 30 days and established prices of 3,360 pesos for 3 additional gigabytes and 6,720 for 7 gigabytes, an amount higher than the average monthly salary in 2024.
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero recognized in July 2025 that the company had raised $24,839,000 in just 46 days with the new rates and promised investments to recover the infrastructure. However, in September of this year Etecsa accumulated some 77,000 reports of interrupted fixed services.
In October, 14ymedio document that residents of the Casino Deportivo, in Havana, had been without telephone or internet for almost a month because Etecsa lacked cables to repair a breakdown. Some had to walk several kilometers to connect and others continued paying for the unused Nauta Hogar just for fear of losing service.
