A few months ago, the American embassy in Cuba was reopened. A month later, Verizon, the biggest wireless telecommunications provider in the US, announced that its Pay-As-You-Go International Travel option, a roaming service which includes messaging, talk and data, will be available for subscribers who plan to visit Cuba.
After Verizon made its announcement, Sprint, another major telecommunications provider in the United States, also announced a similar scheme for its subscribers that would like a sip of that Cuban mojito.
In a press release, Sprint revealed that it is the first American wireless telecommunications provider to establish a direct roaming agreement with ETECSA (Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba S.A.). Although Verizon announced the availability of its roaming service within the country, it is using third-party channels and has yet to sign an agreement with ETECSA.
"We want to make sure any Sprint customer traveling to Cuba can use their phone the same way as they do in the United States," Marcelo Claure, Sprint CEO, said in Havana during the agreement's signing ceremony, which is part of the USCBC (U.S.-Cuba Business Council), an advocacy organization that aims for the U.S. and Cuba to have a strategic and strong commercial relationship.
Prior to the specified statement, Claure emphasized that with the progressing commercial relationship between the Cuba and the U.S., an increase in the number of people traveling to Cuba is expected. According to Sprint's forecast, over 3 million people from all over the world are expected to set foot on Cuba before 2015 ends. In a decade, the number is projected to be almost double at over 5 million visitors yearly.
Aside from its signed agreement with the ETECSA, Sprint also highlighted its international endeavors, such as Sprint Global Roaming and Sprint Open World that will cater to its subscribers who want to travel across the Americas.
Sprint is yet to announce the pricing for its roaming service in Cuba but it is expected to be competitive with Verizon's pricing. Its standard international rates are $2.99 for a minute of voice calls and $2.05 per megabyte of data.
Photo: Paul Keller | Flickr
