The US’ Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has removed Cuba from its ‘exclusion list’, facilitating local telcos’ entry into the market. The move follows an historic warming of diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba and is expected to boost competition for telecoms services between the two countries.
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has removed Cuba from its ‘exclusion list’, facilitating local telcos’ entry into the market.
The FCC said in a statement that eliminating the Caribbean country from the Exclusion List for International Section 214 Authorizations “opens the door for US telecom carriers to provide facilities-based telephone and internet services to Cuba without separate approval from the commission”.
Cuba was the last remaining country on the list.
The commission, chaired by Tom Wheeler (pictured), said the development is in the public interest as “it will likely alleviate administrative and cost burdens on both the applicant and the commission, and will promote competition on the US-Cuba route”.
According to the FCC order, AT&T (NYSE:T) has said that removing Cuba from the exclusion list “would help foster competition for bilateral communications between the US and Cuba, and thus increase the flow of information to and from the Cuban people”.
The move follows an historic warming of diplomatic relations between the US and Cuban governments, which announced in December 2014 that they would gradually restore ties across a number of fields, including telecoms.
Further to the agreement, known as the Cuban thaw, a number of US companies struck deals with the island nation. Telecoms provider IDT (NASDAQ:IDTI) agreed to provide international long distance calls between the US and Cuba, on-demand streaming provider Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) launched services in the local market and wireless carrier Sprint’s (NYSE:S) Boost Mobile unit rolled out a prepaid plan for US consumers calling and texting Cuba.
While the US economic embargo on Cuba remains in place, the government removed restrictions on Americans travelling to and doing business in the country last September.
That same month, Verizon Wireless said it had become the first US mobile operator to offer roaming in Cuba with its pay-as-you-go international travel option.
Sprint followed suit in November, inking a direct roaming agreement with the Telecommunications Company of Cuba (ETECSA).
The US reopened its embassy in Havana last August after more than half a century.
