Verizon Communications Inc. announced on Sep. 17, Thursday, which it would start to offer wireless service in Cuba next week. It would be the first United States company to do so.

The announcement by the No. 1 U.S. wireless carrier, according to Reuters, follows the restoration of the diplomatic relationship between the U.S. and Cuba after 54 long years. The U.S. has set connectivity as one of the priorities in its new relationship with the communist-run country.

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With the news on the same day, Cuba's first ambassador to the U.S. since 1961 had presented his credentials at the White House.

Technology, services, and telecommunications were among the first exemptions to a U.S. economic embargo of the island. It is after Havana and Washington announced plans to restore their diplomatic relationship in December 2014.

Verizon will then charge $2.99 per minute for voice calls. Also, the company will charge $2.05 per megabyte for data, which makes the option an expensive one. At the moment, visiting Americans must buy a pay-as-you-go cell phone through the state telephone company, Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba SA to have cellular service or have a cell phone account in a third country. ETECSA though did not offer any data.

In April, a part of Sprint Corp., Boost Mobile, launched a prepaid plan for U.S. consumers who call and/or text to Cuba. Because in March, it reveals that U.S.-based IDT Corp. has reached an agreement with ETECSA to provide direct international long-distance service for people who need it.

Roughly about 2 million people out of the communist-run island's population of 11 million already have cell phones. The Cuban officials cite on the U.S. embargo as one reason for its weak development and that they say they are hoping to reach 60 percent mobile-phone access by the year 2020, according to CNBC.

TagsCommunist Cuba, ETECSA, long-distance service, diplomatic relation, wireless service in Cuba, verizon, Cuban ambassador