Google Speeds YouTube Videos for Cubans Through Its Global Cache Service

Google agreed with Cuba telecom provider ETECSA (Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba) to deploy the U.S. company's Global Cache service to speed YouTube videos and other high-bandwidth Google content viewed in the country, Google said in a Monday blog post. Cubans with internet access should have reduced latency for cached content, Google said. Engage Cuba, a coalition of companies and local leaders seeking to dismantle the Cuban embargo, sees the announcement as good for local startups. “The deal with Google will allow for increased activity and faster connections that will continue to benefit the Cuban people; in particular, the growing sector of Cuban entrepreneurs, or cuentapropistas, that relies heavily on access to internet to expand their private businesses,” said Engage Cuba President James Williams in a news release.