Cuba approves internet domain rules

HAVANA - The Cuban government has approved a set of guidelines on internet domain names, according to a decree published Thursday.

The guidelines establish a system for the distribution and registration of domain names for all government bodies and other agencies, the decree said.

The rules were aimed at ensuring the internet domain name system is a "distributed, hierarchical, and scalable service with a decentralized control," it said.

The approval of the guidelines indicates Cuba's internet capacity is bound to expand, as the government said an underwater fiber-optic network, set up with Venezuela in 2011 as an alternative to satellite internet service, is currently undergoing "traffic tests."

Once in full operation, the network is expected to greatly expand the ?internet capacity of the island country, which has been forced to access internet through a much slower and more expensive satellite connection because of the US-led embargo against it.