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HAVANA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Cuba's state-owned telecommunications company, ETECSA, announced Monday that it had signed agreements with its U.S. counterpart AT&T on roaming and direct interconnection between the two countries.
In a press release published on its website, ETECSA said AT&T customers coming to Cuba will enjoy voice and text services, as well as data roaming on ETECSA's network after an implementation period and technical tests.
"These agreements will allow offering phone calls through direct interconnection between the two countries," it noted.
In its own press release on Monday, AT&T's Executive Vice President Bill Hague said "Cuba is a growing international calling destination for our customers. With this agreement, AT&T customers soon will be able to seamlessly connect with talk, text and data while visiting Cuba."
This is not the first such deal as ETECSA already has agreements with IDT from the U.S., marking the re-establishment of direct telecommunication interconnection after 54 years of political enmity.
In November, Sprint Communications signed up with ETECSA to offer the first roaming service for Americans in Cuba. Since then, Verizon and T-Mobile have also signed similar deals.
Washington has maintained a severe economic and trade blockade on Havana since 1962. However, the packages of measures approved by the administration of President Barack Obama allow for business agreements in various sectors, including telecommunications.
