Google signed an agreement with the Cuban government on Monday granting internet users on the Communist-run island quicker access to its branded content.
Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google's parent company, signed the deal with the president of state telecommunications monopoly ETECSA. It grants Cubans speedy access to the Google Global Cache network, which stores content from sites such as Gmail and YouTube on servers located closer to end users.
In a country where public internet access is limited to slow and expensive Wi-Fi hot spots, it was not clear how the deal would affect service in the short term.
The Google deal comes as officials in Havana and Washington are working to wrap up pending commercial accords before President Barack Obama leaves office next month.
谷歌星期一与古巴政府签署协议,让古巴的互联网用户能更快地接触到谷歌提供的内容。
谷歌母公司总裁埃里克∙施密特与国有的古巴通讯公司负责人签署了这项协议。协议让古巴的互联网用户能更快地接触到谷歌全球缓存网络,该网络将Gmail和Youtube等网站上的内容存储在距离用户更近的服务器上。
古巴目前公共上网只限于低速昂贵的WIFI 网点,所以目前还不清楚,这一协议短期内会对互联网服务起到什么样的效果。
美国总统奥巴马下个月卸任。古巴和美国官员正在抓紧时间完成洽谈当中的商业协议。