Cuba Latin America

Cuba Power Shortfall Hits ETECSA Internet on Monday

By Contributing Reporter · October 5, 2026 · 6 min read

People sit on a pavement in Old Havana using their mobile phones at a public Wi-Fi spot — Cubans connect to the internet on their phones at a public Wi-Fi spot in Havana. (Photo: Othmar Kyas, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

TECHNOLOGY · CUBA

Key Facts

—The country Cuba is a one-party communist state of about 10 million people, 90 miles from Florida. ETECSA, the state-owned Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba, is its only phone and internet provider.
—Why it matters Nauta is how many Cubans get online at Wi-Fi spots and at home. Transfermóvil is the main app for paying phone bills and topping up credit.
—Why now ETECSA posted the notice on its social media pages on the morning of Monday 5 October 2026. Power cuts had topped 2,000 megawatts on most days for weeks.
—What happened On 5 October ETECSA said power problems had knocked out several systems, cutting Nauta browsing and Transfermóvil payments. Mobile data still works, the company said.
—The numbers In the 18 September grid collapse, over 80% of mobile radio-base sites and almost 70% of telecom cabinets went down. Internet traffic fell 58% (ETECSA, 24 September).
—What it means for you Relatives in the US may find family harder to reach and top-ups slower to confirm. ETECSA’s bonus for top-ups sent from abroad runs from 5 to 10 October.
—Still open When the services return, how many provinces are affected, and whether bonus top-ups will be credited on time. ETECSA gave no timetable.

An ETECSA outage on Monday 5 October cut the Nauta internet service and the Transfermóvil payment app in Cuba. The state phone company blamed “energy problems” that had shut down several of its systems.

For Cuban Americans who call, message and send phone credit to relatives, it means another day of patchy contact. ETECSA said mobile data kept working but gave no time for a full repair.

What ETECSA Said

ETECSA published a short notice on its social media pages on Monday morning. CiberCuba linked it to the company’s official Facebook page. It said that “different systems and technological equipment” were down because of power problems.

The company listed three effects. Browsing through Nauta was disrupted, Transfermóvil payments failed, and customers could not manage the services linked to both.

Nauta is ETECSA’s internet account system. Cubans use it at public Wi-Fi spots, in internet rooms and through Nauta Hogar, the home connection.

Transfermóvil is a payment app that works over ETECSA’s network. People use it to top up mobile and Nauta credit and to pay phone and internet bills.

ETECSA said its specialists were “evaluating alternatives” to restore the services. It also warned that other institutions could see their own services affected, without naming them.

The notice was reported the same day by the Cuban outlets CiberCuba, Periódico Cubano, Cuba Noticias 360, CubitaNOW and Asere Noticias. None could say how many users or provinces were hit.

Why the Grid Keeps Hitting Phones

Cuba’s telecoms depend on a power system that has been failing for months. The state grid operator, Unión Eléctrica (UNE), publishes a daily estimate of the load it must cut.

From 3 September to 2 October, 23 of 28 comparable days ended with over 2,000 megawatts unserved. Infobae drew the count from UNE’s daily notes. The cut reached 2,059 megawatts on 1 October and 2,130 on 2 October.

Monday’s outlook was no better, as set out in Cuba Grid Operator Forecasts 1,920 MW Blackout Monday. When power fails, mobile masts and street cabinets lose supply unless they have batteries or generators.

ETECSA itself spelled out the damage on 24 September in a statement carried by the state news site Cubadebate. It said availability of mobile and fixed services had fallen in recent months.

In the grid collapse of 18 September, over 80% of mobile radio-base sites and almost 70% of telecom cabinets went offline. Internet traffic dropped 58% against similar periods, the company said.

Bar chart: in Cuba's 18 September 2026 grid collapse, over 80% of ETECSA mobile radio-base sites and almost 70% of telecom cabinets went down, and internet traffic fell 58% — Share of ETECSA's network knocked out in the 18 September nationwide grid collapse, and the fall in internet traffic. (Source: ETECSA statement, 24 September 2026, via Cubadebate)

The same statement said it was “not viable” to keep expanding the access network without power backup. ETECSA has paused new masts, cabinets and Wi-Fi sites for now.

What Is Still Working

There is a partial cushion. ETECSA says mobile data stayed up on Monday. Apps such as WhatsApp may still connect where a phone has signal and credit.

The company is also moving its sites to solar power. By late September, the main centres of 64 municipal seats had solar backup. Most progress was in Pinar del Río, Villa Clara, Matanzas and Granma.

ETECSA admits that this capacity does not always last 24 hours. Users quoted by Periódico Cubano said data also fails when local masts lose power.

Frustration runs high because of prices. ETECSA sharply raised data prices in May 2025, a move Cubans call the “tarifazo”, and many now ask where that revenue went.

What It Means for You

For families in the United States, the ETECSA outage matters most for staying in touch. Calls over mobile data may still work, but relatives who rely on Wi-Fi spots or home Nauta may be offline.

ETECSA courts top-ups paid from abroad with regular bonus offers. Its current bonus, running from 5 to 10 October, gives 25 gigabytes extra and unlimited early-morning browsing to people who receive them.

Recipients of two or more top-ups in that window also get domestic minutes and text messages for ten days. ETECSA has not said whether Monday’s fault will delay crediting these bonuses.

Travellers heading to Cuba should expect patchy internet and plan offline maps and backups. For wider context, see Cuba Explained 2026: The Economy, the Exodus, the System and What to Watch.

What Is Not Known

By 3 p.m. Havana time on Monday, ETECSA had not announced that Nauta and Transfermóvil were back. It has not said when the ETECSA outage will end. It also gave no figure for the number of users, provinces or sites affected.

The company did not name the other institutions whose services might suffer. Nor did it say whether the fault is only a power cut or whether equipment was damaged.

It is also unclear how long mobile data can hold up during the ETECSA outage if blackouts deepen tonight. That depends on fuel for generators and on how much solar backup each site has.

What did ETECSA announce on 5 October 2026?

ETECSA said power problems had interrupted several of its systems. Nauta internet browsing, Transfermóvil payments and related services were affected, while mobile data kept working.

Why do blackouts in Cuba cause an ETECSA outage?

Mobile masts and telecom cabinets need electricity. In the 18 September grid collapse, more than 80% of radio-base sites went down, according to ETECSA.