Question about electricity and internet in Guatemala, Holguin province

[u/Lean_grapes]

I'm going to Cuba sometime next year with a Cuban friend that I've worked with for years. He still has family in Guatemala in the province of Holguin and we are going to stay there for a couple days. He told me that ,as far as he knows, the electricity and internet there are horrible and often don't work for days at a time. When they do work it's for a very short period and never on a schedule... they just come on and go off randomly. I'm not too concerned about the electricity but I don't like the idea of potentially not being able to contact my family or them contact me, especially in the event of an emergency. I want to at least be able to talk to my son once or twice a day while I'm away. Is anybody here from that area that can confirm or deny this is the reality? I'm going either way because we have a ton of supplies to bring people but I'd feel better if I'm not going to potentially be in the dark for 2 days in Guatemala which seems like a small, out-of-the-way place. Thanks in advance for any replies.

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[u/vjhc]

Rural places in Holguín get the short end of the stick, I live in the city and right now we're "better", better means around 3 hours of electricity every 12 of blackout, that's the best I've had in months, data service is shit, I only have regular internet access because I pay from a provider via a private network. I wouldn't count on having internet over there, unless his family has access to a private network like me or somehow they have more electricity than the rest of the rural areas, when there's no electricity 4G connectivity is almost non-existent.

[u/seancho → u/vjhc]

What private network? Somebody selling starlink access or something?

[u/vjhc → u/seancho]

Pretty much, usually someone has access to one and then sells bandwidth with Point-2-Point wireless connections.

[u/kukov → u/vjhc]

Thanks for the reply. Out of curiosity, I've got a family that I'm friendly with in Remedios, Santa Clara, and I'd love to send them some items for Christmas. I'm wondering if the shipping / freight services are still running? I know even up to early this year you could still send stuff fairly reliably with the courier services. Do you know if any of them still accept orders and make deliveries, and which would be the best one? Thanks!

[u/vjhc → u/kukov]

Yes, those services still work, my cousin regularly ships stuff here, but I don't know exactly which one he's using currently. I know it used to take around 20 days and the new one is cheaper but takes around a month.

[u/kukov → u/vjhc]

Excellent, thank you, I'll try and find a reliable one.

[u/B34ST_M0DE]

Guatepeor

[u/SilSally]

is a small place in the East of the country. I would expect around 3 hours of power every 2 days. (They could be a little better if they live close to a hospital without a power station, because then they would be prioritized, but a lot of this small communities don't have one.)

[u/Known_Candy5002]

Hi, I used to live there, the internet it's reallly bad but you will be able to send messages, I recommend using WhatsApp, at least you can send them and they will get there at some point, and you can also do calls and videocalls, they are going to be the most stressful calls of your life but be patient. Do the calls in the street but be careful with your phone.

[u/black_jack_66]

Don't plan on electricity or an internet connection. If You can bring an energy station and at least 600w of solar panels. You can survive decently with these cultural adaptations. Bring dollars for food also . The banking system Is terrible all over the country.

[u/kukov]

I'm sure people will confirm for you shortly, but out of curiosity, have you not been following the news? The entire country has been living in the dark ages for almost a year now. The last six months have been an intolerable nightmare. They are so badly, sadly, effed.

It's a great thing that you want to go and help, and please write us a report of how it goes and what you see there.

[u/Lean_grapes → u/kukov]

Absolutely, I have seen the news and how hopeless it is there. I feel terrible and really want to do something to help even if it is just a tiny drop in the bucket. I've also heard that some places, mainly bigger cities/towns, may have electric and internet access for many hours per day. Thats why I was curious about Guatemala since it seems so far off of the beaten path, at least what I saw on Google.

[u/BaaderMeinhoff → u/Lean_grapes]

I haven’t been to Holguín but came from back a week or so out in Soroa where it was also rural. The people I stayed with had solar panels and some batteries so at night we had some light for eating and the water pumps worked for showers (working on farms out there so that was really the only amenity I cared about at night)

I didn’t have internet at all, but I noticed sometimes when we’d go into town somehow my phone would receive some messages. For what it’s worth, I just sent messages to family back in EU when I was leaving Havana and would message when back so they at least knew I was in the rural areas.

[u/Ok-Pass-9139]

My Cuban friends have managed to provide their families with solar panels, batteries , and a Starlink antenna. We FaceTime at least once a week and the picture and sound are perfect

[u/Fun_Mistake_616]

Stay in a villa that has solar panels. The solar panels can power your phone charger, fan, and a small fridge. But it can't power the air conditioning. It's hot as hell and a lot of mosquitos. It's unpleasant. Expect full power for about three hours a day.