out yesterday, so this is from the newest
version of these Web pages.”
Although Cuba has been known for
one of the lowest Internet penetration
rates in the world, millions of Cubans
engage with digital content on a regular
basis through an informal, pervasive,
offline Internet called El Paquete
Semanal (EP), or the Weekly Package.

Up until recently, only 5 percent of Cuba’s population had access to the World Wide Web ( W W W).

Although access is increasing, slow
speeds and high costs persist. Despite
such barriers, there is a proliferation
of multimedia content across the
country. EP is a one-terabyte (TB)
collection of digital content compiled
DVDs looking for educational content
for her young granddaughter. At the
restaurant next door, a flat-screen
TV plays Cuban reggaeton videos as
patrons sway their hips and tap their
feet to the music. Two friends walk by,
loudly discussing the latest Game of
Thrones episode, trying to hear each
other over the beat from the music
videos. They are headed to a home
nearby to purchase a smartphone that
was advertised in an online classified
ad. “I hope the phone is still available,”
says one to the other. “We should be
fine,” says her friend. “El Paquete came

Insights

→ In Cuba, instead of relying on technical equipment and algorithms, the “Internet” is populated and sustained by a human infrastructure.

→ People have access to up-to-date international entertainment content, software, and social media posts through an offline, community-run information system. I

The Human
Infrastructure
of El Paquete,
Cuba’s Offline
Internet

Michaelanne Dye, Georgia Institute of Technology

David Nemer, University of Kentucky

Josiah Mangiameli, Georgia Institute of Technology

Amy Bruckman, Georgia Institute of Technology

Neha Kumar, Georgia Institute of Technology @INTERACTIONSMAG 58 INTERACTIONS JANUARY–FEBRUARY2019